IIoT + SMBs Spells Operator Opportunity

Operators' broadband infrastructures and long-time relationships could forge the foundation for long-term Industrial Internet of Things trusted advisor status -- and profitability.

The stakes are high: Global IIoT is expected to reach $91.4 billion by 2023, versus $64 billion this year, a new report by MarketsandMarkets finds. SMBs will drive much of that growth as they seek new automation solutions to reduce overhead and production costs, the researcher said.

SMBs already spend a lot with cable and telco operators, with some of that budget going to IIoT. Additional fiber deployments plus the arrival of 5G, fixed mobile's potential reduction of the digital divide in rural and low-income urban areas, increased use of Gfast to deliver high-speed broadband across multi-dwelling units in urban areas and continued development of alternate broadband technologies only further advance business and residential connectivity and complement IoT and IIoT standards and communications efforts.

At the end of last year, US wireline cable and telecom generated $325 billion in revenue, according to a May 2018 report by Independence Research. Of that, about $98 billion came from businesses of all sizes, the report said. Last year, combined US mobile business and consumer totaled $213 billion; $101 billion came from business, Independence Research said.

In particular, operators should benefit from midsized organizations' use of IoT and IIoT -- particularly given their extensive, often long-time, relationships with service providers. Small businesses (those spending less than $2,000 monthly on communications) spent about $26 billion on wireline in 2017, while so-called "national enterprises" (typically a midsized regional or national company with multiple locations in the US) spent $27.5 billion. For their part, wholesalers bought about $24 billion worth of services and US consumers spent $20.5 billion in 2017, reported Independence Research.

IIoT is of interest to organizations across many verticals but is doing particularly well in segments such as healthcare, manufacturing, automotive, construction and education -- verticals in which operators have experience and several are focusing even more resources.

Cox Business, for example, hired long-time telehealth evangelist Mike Braham as vice president and general manager of Trapollo, which it acquired in 2015. The company, which provides nationwide, remote patient monitoring and telehealth services, uses a combination of DOCSIS 3.0 and 3.1, Metro Ethernet, HFC, optical Internet and fiber to build resilience into local communities in order to support services -- including IIoT offerings such as telehealth, Braham told Broadband World News earlier this year. (See Cox Business Health GM: No More Evangelist.)

"We're trying to be sure we can provide improved clinical outcomes, to be sure hospitals can use resources more efficiently and effectively, and financially it makes sense both for the individual patient, the caregiver and/or the payers themselves to be sure the dollar spent is most effectively used," he said.

Related posts:

• Down on the (Connected) Farm
• Rural Hospitals Happy With Fiber – for Now
• For Cablecos, IoT Is the Place to Be

— Alison Diana, Editor, Broadband World News. Follow us on Twitter or @alisoncdiana.