Cellular Standards in the IoT: A Brief Practical Guide for Licensing Negotiations

Abstract

Global cellular standards (e.g., 4G/LTE and 5G/NR) are a key driver of the advancing digital transformation of the economy and society. In recent decades, open standardization in the telecommunications field has led to unprecedented technological progress, which has boosted innovation, fuelled economic growth, and has changed the way people work, execute financial transactions, purchase and sell goods and services, listen to music, watch movies, and interact with each other all over the world. The emerging Internet of Things (IoT) greatly benefits from the high-performance, reliable connectivity and interoperability guaranteed by modern cellular open standards. Billions of devices are able to seamlessly connect, exchange information, and work with each other, paving the way for new applications that can positively impact all aspects of everyday life. Some examples of IoT applications include ‘smart’ homes and cities that allow for efficiency gains with respect to energy supply and consumption, ‘smart’ health solutions, and ‘smart’ agriculture, all of which can bring us closer to a more sustainable future. Furthermore, industrial IoT applications and ‘Industry 4.0’ are expected to generate massive cost savings and productivity gains through fully automated manufacturing and logistics processes in ‘smart’ factories.