According to Cambridge Dictionary, The Intenet of Things (Iot) is “all the different devices, including computers, phones, wearable technology, and smart systems, that are able to connect to each other using the Internet.”  The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) defined IoT in its Recommendation ITU-T Y.2060 as “A global infrastructure for the information society, enabling advanced services by interconnecting (physical and virtual) things based on existing and evolving interoperable information and communication technologies.”

Worldwide spending on the Internet of Things (IoT)

According to International Data Corporation (IDC) Spending Guide, worldwide spending on the Internet of Things (IoT) will grow from $698.6 billion in 2015 to nearly $1.3 trillion in 2019. According to IDC’s press release, issued in December 2015, manufacturing and transportation led the way in worldwide IoT spending with 2015 totals of $165.6 billion and $78.7 billion, respectively. Over the next five years, the industries forecast to have the fastest IoT spending growth will be insurance (31.8% CAGR), healthcare, and consumer. The fast expanding consumer IoT market will be the third largest IoT spending category by the end of the forecast period.

Billions of Connected Things

Gartner, Inc. forecasts that 6.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2016, up 30 percent from 2015, and will reach 20.8 billion by 2020. In 2016, 5.5 million new things will get connected every day. In a press release issued in November 2015, Gartner estimates that the Internet of Things (IoT) will support total services spending of $235 billion in 2016, up 22 percent from 2015. Services are dominated by the professional category (in which businesses contract with external providers in order to design, install and operate IoT systems), however connectivity services (through communications service providers) and consumer services will grow at a faster pace.

The Cellular Internet of Things (IoT)

The wireless industry is making significant progress in facilitating the Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT) standard. "The Internet of Things is opening doors to the next era of inventive cellular technologies," said Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas, in a press release published in November 2015. "These standardized commercial technologies will be the major foundational access methods that enable a multitude of IoT applications for years to come." 4G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of leading telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. According to 4G Americas’ press release, the Cellular Internet of Things will be an important access methodology to support and enable communications over large scale IoT devices.

Guidelines for the Internet of Things

The GSMA published in 2014 guidelines for the Internet of Things (IoT) market that outline how devices and applications should communicate via mobile networks in the most intelligent and efficient way. The GSMA’s Guidelines are intended for use by all players in the mobile ecosystem, ensuring that mobile networks can efficiently accommodate the increased number of connected devices and services resulting from the rapid growth of M2M.

Remote SIM Provisioning for IoT

According to a report of Beecham Research published in October 2014, the GSMA eUICC Embedded SIM Specification will accelerate and help transform the M2M and Internet of Things (IoT) markets. The report was launched in association with the GSMA.  According to Beecham Research’s press release, the use of traditional handset SIM cards presents challenges for insertion and replacement in M2M products, which can add cost and create barriers for sales. To overcome this, a specific non-removable SIM embedded into the M2M device at the point of manufacture enables remote provisioning with the subscription profile of the operator providing the connectivity. This eliminates the need to replace SIM cards over the lifetime of each M2M product.

CALLUP’s Internet of Things (IoT) SIM Cards Management System

CALLUP developed an Internet of Things (IoT) SIM Cards Management System - CALLUP IoT Engine. The CALLUP IoT Engine can remotely manage the entire life cycle of SIM cards embedded in various devices from activation, through various upgrades, to SIM card cancellation and swap. CALLUP IoT Engine is an IoT-enhanced version of CALLUP SIM OTA system, which is used by various mobile operators worldwide. CALLUP IoT Engine includes unique features and interfaces, allowing easy integration with third party systems.