The Open Interconnect Consortium joins the rapidly growing ranks of groups dedicated to device interoperability in the Internet of Things realm.

Jason Meyers, Executive Editor

July 8, 2014

2 Min Read
Intel, Others Form Another IoT Alliance

A new consortium ostensibly aimed at defining connectivity and interoperability requirements for the Internet of Things sector is likely to make IoT standardization increasingly convoluted.

The Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC) was formed by Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC), Dell Technologies (Nasdaq: DELL), Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM), Atmel Corp. (Nasdaq: ATML), Samsung Corp. , and Wind River Systems Inc. The group's aim is to create connectivity standards based on open source code to ensure interoperability of connected IoT devices.

Noticeably absent from the ranks of the OIC's founders, however, is Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM), which backs the 51-member AllSeen Alliance that Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) joined just last week. That group is angling to standardize IoT device interconnection via the AllJoyn language. None of the founding companies in the OIC are members of the AllSeen Alliance. (See Microsoft Joins Qualcomm & Friends in IoT Standards Group.)

Heavy hitters like Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), meanwhile, appear to be steering clear of any consortium, presumably content to develop their own IoT connectivity specifications.

The announcement of the OIC's formation offers few details about its specific approach to standards development, but the group's emphasis on openness, collaboration, and choice could be taken as a jab at AllJoyn, which, while now open-source, was a Qualcomm-developed platform. (See Qualcomm Launches AllJoyn Project.)

Other industry groups working to contribute to IoT standardization do have overlapping membership with both OIC and AllSeen, including the Industrial Internet Consortium, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) , and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) . With industry pundits projecting tens of millions of connected devices by 2020, the IoT sector is a hotbed of activity -- one likely to get even hotter (and more chaotic) with the formation of seemingly competing standards organizations.

— Jason Meyers, Utility Communications Editor, Light Reading

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About the Author(s)

Jason Meyers

Executive Editor

Jason Meyers joined the editorial staff of Light Reading in 2014 with more than 20 years of experience covering a broad range of business sectors. He is responsible for tracking and reporting on developments in the Internet of Things (IoT), Gigabit Cities and utility communications areas. He previously was Executive Editor of Entrepreneur magazine, overseeing all editorial operations, assignments and editorial staff for the monthly business publication. Prior to that, Meyers spent 15 years on the editorial staff of the former Telephony magazine, including eight years as Editor in Chief.

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