Industrial Internet of Things

The future for cities and utilities involves connecting all devices and data with a single network. Some of those devices will be ordinarily controlled by people, as when customers input data into forms or staff call suppliers to update deliveries. But many other devices—transformers, streetlights, meters, and hundreds of thousands more—communicate primarily with other devices and the software that facilitates operations.

The technical requirements for human-centered vs. machine-centered networks can be significantly different.

1. Did you know that a personalized phone number is required for every device that’s part of a cellular network? For cities considering smart projects, monitoring changes to cellular networks will be a key to long-term success when implementing cellular-based projects.

2. To solve interoperability issues, many carriers have started to rely on third party solutions to help solve customer issues. With devices being made from multiple manufacturers, this can cause some confusion for providers when issues arise. Deploying a hybrid-wireless network that is solution agnostic, like Trilliant’s networking technology, can help solve many of these problems before they happen.

Telecom solutions are closed ecosystems, leading to customers paying based on volume to access their data, which can limit options and raise costs. It is important to deploy a solution that is cost optimized for scale.

3. The different ecosystems of carrier A vs carrier B create complexity for device and solution manufacturers and can fracture IoT in some places due to restraints on what a vendor can support. In the end, this can drive up device costs.

4. Mission critical data demands reliability. When choosing a network, be sure to focus on one that will provide the most stability to your mission critical needs.

5. Data access is a critical component to managing a successful network. A hybrid wireless solution that uses multiple points to deliver data provides far more options than only using one type of network connectivity. To achieve the coveted 5 9’s connectivity, reliability and control over the network are critical.

6. 5G is here, but carriers are focused on retail subscribers and getting into the home to offer extended services to compete with wired and fiber connectivity. To start, these highspeed cellular networks will be in specific areas of larger cities, with the location often being determined by algorithms. 5G may provide many new possibilities in terms of reliable connectivity, but time will tell If it will become a consistent source to meet the needs of IIoT.

IIoT needs dedicated infrastructure for mission critical data with the highest reliability because the applications and solutions that will deliver the data are critical for success.