AT&T, other network operators navigate IoT turmoil

Thales' cellular IoT business, acquired by Telit

Google, which shuttered its IoT Core business

FogHorn, acquired by Johnson Controls

IBM, which retired its Watson IoT Platform

And the list doesn't include IoT network operators that have been dealing with significant challenges, such as Helium, Sigfox and Ingenu.

"It's a big world out there," Coursey told Light Reading, arguing that there will eventually be a role for all kinds of IoT services and networks, whether that's Amazon's Sidewalk or AT&T's narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT) network.

Coursey suggested that AT&T will focus its attention on the high end of the IoT market, where buyers are more willing to pay for premium 5G connections delivering speed, security and reliability.

From national to international plays

AT&T isn't the only big US wireless network operator looking to capture growth in the IoT market. Verizon has long played in the sector too, including through its ThingSpace platform.

TJ Fox, SVP of industrial IoT and automotive, has led Verizon's IoT business since 2021, including its efforts to connect automobiles. However, Verizon does not publish details about its IoT operations, including the number of connections. Neither does T-Mobile.

"These operators, they don't know how to handle the part of the market that we address," said Ivo Rook, a top executive at Germany's 1NCE, which has built a business reselling cellular IoT connections for $1 per device/sensor per year, a price most network operators can't touch because it isn't profitable.

Before joining 1NCE last year, Rook launched Sprint's Curiosity IoT platform in the US, and then headed up T-Mobile's IoT business after T-Mobile acquired Sprint in 2020. He said 1NCE makes a "solid margin," though he wouldn't provide details. The company's roughly 15 million IoT connections run through several cellular IoT networks, some of which are operated by its investors, Deutsche Telekom and Softbank.

During a recent interview with Light Reading, Rook said IoT is nearing an "inflection point," where finding connections will be as simple as plugging a charger into an electrical outlet. "The only thing the network should do, like an electricity network, is connect to a device," he said.

Rook said the problem with the IoT market so far has been the wide range of networking options – from NB-IoT to LoRa – that make it too complex. It's like trying to plug in a charger across ten different kinds of electrical outlets.

But others aren't so sure that the IoT sector is preparing to calm down.

"The IoT opportunity is significant but also challenging to capitalize if a vendor lacks capabilities, scale, right partnerships and focus to self- or co-create value. The complexity and scale benefits are different for every application and vertical, and the vendors need to be prudent to prioritize and partner," wrote Shah, of Counterpoint. "The fragmented nature of the IoT ecosystem will see waves of consolidation and growth. As a IoT player always be ready to pivot or have an exit plan!"

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— Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading | @mikeddano