Verizon unveiled a sweeping internet of things (IoT) strategy today at an event held for media and other stakeholders in San Francisco, California. The core part of its new strategy includes a platform called ThingSpace which the company claims is an open environment for device management and application development. Verizon will also vertically integrate services through this platform.
Verizon has managed to generate some $495 million in revenue within its IoT and telematics business lines – amounting to some of the largest market share in the space right now.
“Despite the exciting potential, IoT is still too complex, too fragmented, too expensive to connect and too hard to scale,” said Mike Lanman, senior vice president Enterprise Products at Verizon. According to Lanman the ThingSpace will take a lot of the guesswork out of IoT.
As of today, all developers – even if they are not a Verizon customer – can code and test on the ThingSpace platform. The company will hold a developers conference in Boston in December at which Verizon will offer access to an expanded set of APIs and application enablement capabilities on ThingSpace.
Verizon says will roll out hundreds more APIs on the platform throughout 2016.
Verizon has also created a core IoT network within its LTE architecture optimized for Cat1 devices in an effort to beef up network reliability and make connecting devices easier.
Additionally, the company aligning its IoT business with its smart city business. Verizon is launching services for intelligent traffic management, lighting and video.
