IIoT Bold Prediction Series Part 5: Discrete RF Manufacturers Obsolete in Three Years
What a week it has been for the connected world! As we grow closer to the end of 2015, there are plenty of movers and shakers in the IoT space, and for good reason – the excitement around the industry is palpable. In fact, it’s hard to keep a pulse on all the activity as there seems to be innovations occurring daily. Additionally, the IoT provider ecosystem itself continues to grow rapidly as the influx of companies – from device manufacturers and software vendors to IT and Cloud services as well as industry groups and regulators – continue to push the bounds of possibility not just for consumers, but businesses as well. To further add to the end of year developments in IoT, our 2016 IIoT Bold Prediction Series ends the week with a bang – after all, it’s not every day that the CEO of a company predicts the demise of its own industry! However, Kim Niederman, CEO of FreeWave Technologies, is making the bold prediction that discrete Radio Frequency (RF) technology manufacturers will be obsolete within the next three years. Prediction #5: The obsolescence of discrete RF manufacturers will occur by 2019 The catalyst that will drive this change will be the open standards in place that will eventually commoditize the market by bringing backwards compatibility and interoperability between different radio manufacturers. Large chip manufacturers are going to drive physical layer standards, meaning the chipsets themselves are going to be more ubiquitous and will make it increasingly difficult for discrete radio manufacturers to find and capitalize on business opportunities in the marketplace. Companies will continue to drive the adoption of open standards and the concept of the software-defined radio will soon become meaningless. Stay tuned for more on this bold IIoT prediction!