A new home wireless networking protocol aims to make a self-healing mesh on the Internet of Things.

Jason Meyers, Executive Editor

July 15, 2014

3 Min Read
Thread Group Spins New IoT Networking Protocol

The Internet of Things just keeps getting more clubs. The newest place to be seen is Thread Group, which launched today to back a new IP-based, in-home wireless networking protocol for the IoT called -- wait for it -- Thread.

Thread Group's founding members are Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Korea: SEC), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG)-owned Nest, Freescale Semiconductor Inc. , Yale Security, Silicon Labs, ARM Ltd. , and Big Ass Fans (yes, really).

Thread is squarely focused on the home network, says Chris Boross, president of Thread Group and technical product marketing manager at Nest (the eponymous thermostat product of which already uses a version of Thread). Its attributes are that is very low power and enables a secure, self-healing mesh network with no single point of failure.

"It's solving the networking problem," Boross says. "It's a very simple protocol."

Thread will be an open protocol and is built on open protocols, Boross says. Thread is derived from characteristics of IEEE 802.15.4, IETF IPv6, and 6LoWPAN (an acronym of IPv6 over low-power wireless personal area networks) and, as protocols go, certainly has a much more concise and memorable name than any of its ancestors.

The fact that Thread boasts proven parentage is a plus for adoption, says Caroline Gabriel, research director for Rethink Technology Research. "They’re not promising a new specification -- they're creating it from something already there," she says. "That's quite positive, because this is proper IP technology. They're actually using real technology rather than promising technology down the road."

The question, Gabriel says, is whether Thread can contend with existing home networking protocols like Bluetooth LE and ZigBee. Boross maintains that it can, and that device and chip makers will settle on fewer standards that achieve the right security and resiliency needs.

"The industry needs to coalesce around a small number of networking standards," he says. "We definitely see a world where devices have WiFi and Thread, or Ethernet and Thread -- but not all the protocols. It's very hard to make a product that supports many, many standards."

Thread Group will open membership and launch a certification program later this year. As for the spate of IoT standards group taking shape of late, like the AllSeen Alliance and the Open Interconnect Consortium , Boross says they are addressing broader issues and expects Thread Group to collaborate with many other groups and standards. (See Intel, Others Form Another IoT Alliance and Microsoft Joins Qualcomm & Friends in IoT Standards Group.)

"They're both providing high-level communications frameworks and platforms that run over lots of different types of networking technologies. They're tackling a different problem, and it may well be very complementary," he says. "Thread is about fixing the networking protocols for low-power mesh networks for the home. We have a very narrow focus and we need to educate the market."

— Jason Meyers, Senior Editor, Utility Communications/IoT, Light Reading

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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