The Evolution of the Internet of Things

By Kat Kynes

Imagine a world where your fridge is talking to your phone, your toothbrush is talking to your dentist and your home lighting takes cues from your Netflix viewing choices. The future is closer than you might think; just ask anyone with a wearable fitness device. The Internet of Things – the term for a connected network of smart devices – is quickly gaining momentum, and is all set to disrupt and revolutionise industries as far-reaching as waste management and health care in the next four years. 

In a recent report from Gartner Inc, it is predicted that that 5.5 million new devices will get connected every day in 2016, and we’ll be surrounded by 20.8 billion connected devices by 2020. Using the results of this report, specialist recruiters Lucas Blakecommissioned this insightful infographic to help us make sense of the growth of the Internet of Things.

The report distinguishes between two types of connected things, cross-industry devices and vertical-specific devices. Cross-industry are generic devices that have a use in a number of industries, for example, connected light bulbs to increase energy efficiency. Vertical-specific devices are more specialised, and serve one function, such as contain shipping tracking devices. These are

ntel Repairs And Returns SAT-3 Submarine Cable to Full Service

ntel, Nigeria’s largest and most advanced broadband LTE network has announced the successful repair and return to service of its SAT-3 submarine cable.

SAT-3/WASC/SAFE or South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable is the longest submarine communications cable in the world with 17 landing points linking Portugal and Europe to South Africa, with connections to several West African countries along the route. It forms part of the SAT-3/WASC/SAFE cable system, where the SAFE cable links South Africa to Asia.

The SAT-3/WASC/SAFE system provides a path between Europe and Asia for telecommunications traffic that is an alternative to the cable routes that pass through the Middle East. SAT-3 provides access to global markets and enables “seamless and diverse” connectivity to the rest of the world.

Kamar Abass CEO of ntel while announcing the successful repair and return to service of the submarine cable said “the repair of SAT-3 is fantastic news for data-hungry consumers and corporates in need of superfast and abundant broadband carried over a robust fibre network with significant capacity and low latency. SAT-3’s 17 landing points and intermediate branches in-country and abroad provide for connections all the way to the Far East, thanks to our alliance with SAFE.”

Potential customers of SAT-3 include Nigeria’s GSM and LTE operators, Internet Service

The Internet of Everything: Transforming the Future

From June 1-3, 2016, technology experts, policy makers, manufactures, buyers and consumers of technology will be converging at the 2016 edition of the Digital Africa Conference and Exhibition. Digital Africa is an Information technology conference that provides access to a captive audience to understand where the consumer ecosystem is currently is, and where opportunities lie. Also, it provides an important platform to network, share knowledge on the latest developments in technology, do business and sign deals. It has also been rated as one of the best technology conferences in Africa. The conference organisers is Digital Africa Global Consult Ltd, an International ICT Consulting Firm. The conference Venue is the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Visit www.digitalafrica.com.ng for more information on how to participate, sponsor or exhibit at the conference.

Samsung Developing New Operating System For The Internet of Things

Photo Credit: Stephen Lawson

Samsung is developing a new operating system for the Internet of Things, hoping to make a bigger role for itself in the millions of smart home appliances, wearables and industrial equipment that are coming online, according to reports on pcworld.com website.

The OS, which will be open source and hasn't yet been named, will help devices to execute simple tasks quickly without human intervention. For example, the software could instruct a door lock to open and the lights to come on as a person approaches their home.

More details are due to be spilled next month during a technical session at the Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco.

“Samsung will announce our new, open-source IoT real-time operating system (RTOS), which has a wide scope of features while maintaining a lightweight and efficient footprint,” the session agenda says.

A spokesman for Samsung couldn't immediately provide further details.

A real time OS processes data quickly, with virtually no delay. An example is Intel's VxWorks,

The Security Risks of The Internet of Things

Is someone watching you online?

By Patryk Szewczyk and Nikolai Hamton

The range and number of “things” connected to the internet is truly astounding, including security cameras, ovens, alarm systems, baby monitors and cars. 

Internet of Things (IoT) devices typically incorporate sensors, switches and logging capabilities that collect and transmit data across the internet.

Some devices may be used for monitoring, using the internet to provide real-time status updates. Devices like air conditioners or door locks allow you to interact and control them remotely.

Most people have a limited understanding of the security and privacy implications of IoT devices. Manufacturers who are first to market are rewarded for developing cheap devices and new features with little regard for security or privacy.

At the heart of all IoT devices is the embedded firmware, the operating system that provides the controls and functions to the device.

Our previous research on Internet device firmware demonstrated that even the largest manufacturers of broadband routers frequently used insecure and vulnerable firmware components.

IoT risks are compounded by their highly connected and accessible nature. So, in addition to suffering from similar concerns as broadband routers, IoT devices need to be

Nokia Claims 5G-Ready IoT Network in Development in Dubai

Nokia Networks has claimed it is starting work on a 5G-ready IoT network infrastructure for critical communications and smart city applications in Dubai, according to reports by telecoms.com and iotworldnews.com.

Working in partnership with specialist security network providers Nedaa and Esharah Etisalat Security Solutions, Nokia has been tasked with creating a smart city infrastructure capable of accommodating high-bandwidth voice, video and apps for mission-critical and emergency services.

The network must also, according to Nokia, be “5G-ready”. The term “5G-ready” is still somewhat vague; presumably there must be a level of flexibility in the architecture so it can scale-up to future workload demands. Nokia says it will have to supply a 5G-ready, mission-critical network consisting of comprehensive security solutions, core and radio access solutions, and IP/MPLS, opical and microwave backhaul infrastructure.

Nokia’s MEA head, Amr El-Leithy, reckons underlying mission-critical infrastructure is the key enabler in realising the potential of smart-cities.

“The Government of Dubai’s vision for creating the safest and smartest city in the world is far-reaching, and something Nokia is proud to be part of,” he said. “Mission-critical communications network is the foundation for realising this vision, and enables public safety and other IoT use cases. Nokia, leveraging its leadership position in 4G and pioneering work in 5G, is well positioned to support the Government of Dubai in its vision to make the city a model for the rest of the world.”

Dubai has been a hotbed of activity for Nokia over the last year. In July last year it launched a trial of its drone-based network testing initiative in a bid to automate the surveillance and maintenance of radio masts across the city. It expanded on this initiative in February by building in LTE and MEC connectivity capabilities for its drones, as well as a control-suite of software for telcos.

Unlocking the IoT promise in Africa by Dr Kemafor Anyanwu Ogan,

IoT Dominates CeBIT Tech Show

…As Huawei, ZTE, SAP Launch IoT Products

German tech show, CeBIT has been hijacked by the nascent IoT industry as Huawei, ZTE, and SAP all used the event to make announcements, according to latest reports by iotworldnews.com.

Huawei launched a connected city lighting solution that claims to reduce municipal lighting energy bills by 80% though ‘multi-level intelligent control’. Essentially this seems to mean every street light is connected to a central console via 6LoWPAN technology, from where it can easily be switch on and off, or even dimmed, according to sensors that record how much activity is happening near the light and what the weather’s like.

“Lighting IoT lays a solid foundation for the integration of a variety of sensors, to facilitate functions such as environmental and transportation monitoring, and installation of smart charging facilities and intelligent rubbish bins, providing Smart City development with valuable big data and integrated interaction to improve citizens’ lives,” said Wu Chou, CTO of Huawei’s Switch and Enterprise Communications division.

Not to be out done rival vendor ZTE announced three IoT initiatives at the show. The BluePillar Smart Streetlamp incorporates a 4G base station transceiver, IoT sensor bundle and a charging point for electric vehicles. Three new smart meters were also launched that support a range of low power wireless standards including Zigbee and LoRa, the latter of which is considered to be especially good for the ‘last mile’ data transmission. Lastly an mHealth physical examination terminal

Jim Ovia to Chair Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition 2016

Mr. Jim Ovia, renowned banker and entrepreneur has been named as the chairman of the 2016 edition of the Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition.

In a statement signed by Dr. Evans Woherem, the Executive Chairman of Digital Africa Global Consult, the organizers of the annual technology gathering expressed delight that Mr. Jim Ovia accepted the invitation to chair this year’s event and described the development as a big plus for an event that has become Africa’s version of CES.

“As an advocate for digital technology, and with the aim of promoting the adoption, diffusion, and active development of digital technology in Africa, Digital Africa Global Consult, organizers of the annual Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition is delighted that Mr. Jim Ovia, MFR, one of the biggest promoters of a technology-driven African continent has accepted to chair this year’s event holding in Abuja on June 1-3 without hesitation.

“We are more delighted to have him chair DA2016 because we share in common, the same objectives of making Africa an active participant in the creation and use of technology and facilitate the continued, responsible growth of the African economy through the development of the technology industry,” the statement said.

Themed: “Accelerated Development for Africa with IoE (Internet of Everything),” the 2016 edition of the Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition which is the fourth in the series, holds from June1-3, 2016 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

The statement further quoted Dr. Evans Woherem, Executive Chairman of Digital Africa Global Consult as noting that the choice for this year’s theme was borne out of the fact that the

Persistent Systems Ties Up With IBM On Internet of Things

Mid-sized IT player, Persistent Systems said it has partnered with IBM to jointly work on the US tech giant's Internet of Things (IoT) platform, according to reports by moneycontrol.com. 

This alliance will result in hiring of a significant number of people globally by the Pune-headquartered company, which employs 9,500 people, but the investments may impact margins in the near term, its founder and Chief Executive Anand Deshpande told PTI.

He, however, said the partnership will be revenue accretive and work done on it will account for a "significant" part of its revenue in the next couple of years.

The partnership involves implementing and building the software suite for the IBM Watson IoT Platform, first launched in the third quarter of 2014, and also helping its other clients on IoT solutions using IBM's platform, Deshpande said.

“We are unifying our engineering teams to be far more productive,” said Chris

Embracing IoTs Will Help Businesses Stay Relevant

The Internet of Things (IoT) has quickly gained a great deal of momentum and buzz amongst companies in a variety of fields over the past year. Up until now, the idea that all of our devices would be connected to one another and sharing data seemed like a far off idea that would take many years to come to fruition.

However due to new technologies quickly becoming more cost-effective and advances in the amount of environmental data that sensors are able to collect, the potential of IoT will likely come to be realized much sooner than many of us originally expected.

Morgan Stanley is projecting that within the next five years, as many as 75 billion devices will be communicating with each other using IoT technologies. As a result of this many companies are trying their best to prepare themselves to harness the power that a hyper connected world could bring to their businesses.

Nitin Rakesh, the CEO and president of the global IT and business solutions provider Syntel, believes that a tremendous amount of pressure is currently being put on companies to modernize and replace their legacy systems, because if they fail to do so they will be unable to handle growing

The IoT Could Be The Next Target For Hackers- Gartner

Research Company Gartner has revealed that Internet of Things huge growing potential could attract Hackers interest in the technology resulting into threat attacks in the near future.  As per Gartner, 6.4 billion connected things in the form of wearable, touch or utility devices will be in use worldwide in 2016 and this number will grow to 20.8 billion by 2020.

With such massive growth forecasted in IOT, there is an obvious danger that Hackers could well be looking at this as the next target, according to latest reports by thewindowsclub.com.

Talking about the recent IOT security breaches, Gartner analyst John Lovelock says, “For those thinking this is a far-off scenario, it’s not. There are examples of recent Internet of Things (IoT) breaches, such as compromised dolls, or the VTech data breach that exposed the personal data of 12 million people, including 6.4 million minors. In each of these cases, the privacy of children has been called into question”.

What really aids hackers in this case is that a smart toy which was never really looked as a possible threat tool earlier could now be used to gain access to smart TVs, mobile phones, computers, tablets, gaming systems and literally everything that is connected to the home network. And these devices aren’t always safe. In fact, many of them leverage the cloud for security. The device’s security is

Accelerating Africa’s Development Through ‘Internet of Everything’

The revolutionary Internet of Everything (IoE) will transform the life of inhabitants of Africa and the way they run their businesses thus accelerating the continent’s overall development. ROMMY IMAH looks at how these will happen……

*Photo: courtesy itpro.co.uk

Suddenly, the Internet of Things or Internet of Everything has become the revolutionary technology trend in the world today. Ever since this life-changing technology was acclaimed as a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction, the buzz has been ‘Internet of Everything’. And it is spreading like harmattan fire across the globe.

Experts say the Internet of Everything (IoE) as a concept, is based on the idea that in the future, Internet connections will not be restricted to laptop or desktop computers and a handful of tablets, as in previous decades. Instead, machines will generally become smarter by having more access to data and expanded networking opportunities. IoE consists of four pillars: People, Process, Data, and Things.

Techopedia, an online IT education portal captures this trending technology aptly when it noted that the “actual IoE applications range from digital sensor tools/interfaces used for remote appliances to smarter and more well-connected mobile devices, industrial machine learning systems and other types of distributed hardware that have recently become more intelligent and automated.”

The 2016 edition of Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition billed to hold at the International Conference Centre, Abuja on June1-3, 2016 and with the theme: Accelerating Africa’s Development Through ‘Internet of Everything,’ will critically dissect this new life-transforming technology through presentations on related issues across all segments of the economy by renowned, global and erudite speakers. They will on the course of the presentations, share strategy and best

The Internet of Things: Sizing up the opportunity

Three years ago, industry pundits and analysts predicted that, by 2020, the market for connected devices would be between 50 billion and 100 billion units. Today, the forecast is for a more reasonable but still sizable 20 billion or 30 billion units. This leveling off of expectations is in line with what we have seen in past introductions of new technologies. Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, for instance, there was much discussion in the semiconductor industry about the potential benefits and implications of Bluetooth technology, but the inflection point for Bluetooth did not happen until 2003 or 2004, when a large enough number of industry players adopted it as a standard and pushed new Bluetooth-based devices and applications into the market. The market for Internet of Things devices, products, and services appears to be accelerating toward just such an inflection point, in view of four critical indicators.

Supplier attention: Internet of Things developer tools and products are now available. Apple, for instance, has released HealthKit and HomeKit developer tools as part of its latest operating-system upgrade, and Google acquired Nest to catalyze the development of an Internet of Things platform and applications.

Technological advances: Some of the semiconductor components that are central to most Internet of Things applications are showing much more functionality at lower prices. Newer processors, such as the ARM Cortex M, use only about one-tenth of the power that most energy-efficient 16-bit processors used only two years ago. This leap forward in technological capabilities is apparent in the evolving market for smart watches. The first such products released in 2012 boasted 400-megahertz single processors and simple three-axis accelerometers. Now a typical smart watch will include 1-gigahertz dual-core processors and high-end, six-axis devices that combine gyroscopes and accelerometers. Meanwhile, the prices of the chip sets used in these products have declined by about 25 percent per year over the past two years.

Increasing demand: Demand for the first generation of Internet of Things products (fitness bands, smart watches, and smart thermostats, for instance) will increase as component technologies evolve and their costs decline. A similar dynamic occurred with the rise of smartphone usage. Consumer demand for smartphones jumped from about 170 million devices sold annually just four or five years ago to more than a billion devices in 2014. The increase in orders coincided with a steep decline in the price of critical smartphone components.

Emerging standards: Over the past two years, semiconductor players have joined forces with hardware, networking, and software companies, and with a number of industry associations and academic consortiums, to develop formal and informal standards for Internet of Things applications. AT&T, Cisco, GE, IBM, and Intel, for instance, cofounded the Industrial Internet Consortium, whose primary goal is to establish interoperability standards across industrial environments so that data about fleets, machines, and facilities can be accessed and shared more reliably. Other groups have been focused on standardizing the application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable basic commands and data transfer among Internet of Things devices.

Digital Africa Conference and Exhibition 2016 edition is Themed “AcceleratedDevelopment for Africa with IoE (Internet of Everything)” holds from the 1st – 3rd of June, 2016 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. The Internet of Everything has gone from a small and interesting topic of conversation to an industry with the potential to change the way the world functions.

Smile Nigeria Launches Two 4G LTE Innovative Services

L-R: Ogor Chukudebelu, Head of Program Management, Michiel Buitelaar, Managing Director, Alero Ladipo,Chief Marketing Officer and Tobe Okigbo,Chief Corporate Services Officer, all of Smile Communications Nigeria Limited at a Media Roundtable in Lagos to announce the introduction of two 4G LTE innovations

Smile Communications Nigeria Limited has announced the introduction of two 4G LTE innovations to its customers in Nigeria - SmileVoice and SmileUnlimited.

Smile, a leading broadband services provider in Nigeria is the first operator in West Africa to offer its customers Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services, giving them access to the fast growing Global standard for voice and video calling.

Smile is running on the 0702 prefix.

Ernest Nnaemeka Azudialu-Obiejesi, Chairman Smile Communications Nigeria said, “Smile is the first mobile operator in West Africa to develop and introduce Voice over LTE, plus a world first in a free Voice over LTE application that enables all our customers in Nigeria with Android and iPhone devices to experience high-quality voice calls over Smile’s network.

“We are committed to improving the quality of voice and data services in Nigeria. With SmileVoice our customers can call anyone locally and in the world just like on any other mobile.”

SmileVoice comes in two options; using a world-first downloadable free mobile App that affords customers with a Smartphone Android and Apple iPhone device the ability to make SuperClear voice calls over Smile’s 4G LTE network, or through the use of VoLTE-enabled handsets

Woherem, IDC See Opportunities For Internet of Everything in Africa

*Dr. Evans Woherem

The International Data Corporation, IDC has in its latest report, predicted that connected devices around the world will continue to soar and would reach an estimated total value of $1.7 trillion by the year, 2020.

In the report, IDC believes that the latest technology trend, the Internet of Everything (IoE) has enormous opportunities in Africa especially against the backdrop of the prospect of the continent likely to accommodate one billion connected devices by the end of this decade.

Interestingly, this year’s edition of Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition billed for June1-3 is focusing on Internet of Everything (IoE), especially considering the fact that the new technology has become the new driver for innovation in the 21st century.

Dr. Evans Woherem, Executive Chairman of Digital Africa Global Consult, organizers of the annual technology show while explaining the rationale behind the choice of Internet of Everything as the focus for this year’s event, observed that the Internet of Everything (IoE) has gone from a small and interesting topic of conversation to an industry with the potential to change the way the world functions.

“More and more objects in our physical world are now able to communicate with each other or with us through embedded sensors, tags, and actuators without human involvement. These ‘smart objects’ can see, hear, feel, and smell the world around them. Intelligence embedded into personal items, household appliances, cars, clothing, factory equipment, and infrastructure generates vast amounts of valuable data that can be collected, networked, and analyzed for a wide range of business, societal, and personal advances,” Woherem said.

Senior research manager at IDC Sub-Saharan Africa, George Kalebaila noted that the opportunities in IoE are endless, with the spread of IoE enabling smart industry, smart health, smart

Digital Africa 2016 to Focus on Internet of Things

Intense preparations for the successful hosting of the 2016 edition of the Digital Africa conference and exhibitions have commenced, with the organisers promising to make this year’s edition the biggest in the history of the 4-year old annual gathering of major, medium, and niche players in the broad ICT sectors.

This year, the organisers said they would focus on Internet of Things (IoT), since it has become a global driver for technology innovation in the 21st century.

Chairman of Digital Africa Global Consult, organisers of the annual technology show, Dr. Evans Woherem announced that the 2016 edition has its theme as “Accelerated Development for Africa with Internet of Everything (IoE).”

The 2016 edition of Digital Africa conference and exhibition is the fourth in the series of successful events earlier held in 2013, 2014 and 2015. It has attracted renowned ICT experts to discuss Africa’s ICT sector development as well as proffer solutions to the challenges limiting the continent’s advancement to the point of digital singularity with the rest of the globe.

Woherem noted that the Internet of Everything (IoE) has gone from a small and interesting topic of conversation to an industry with the potential to change the way the world functions.

He said: “In recent years, we gave entered a new era of connectedness beyond the human realm. More and more objects in our physical world are now able to communicate with each other or with us through embedded sensors, tags, and actuators without human involvement. These ‘smart objects’ can see, hear, feel, and smell the world around them. Intelligence embedded into personal items, household appliances, cars, clothing, factory equipment, and infrastructure generates vast amounts of valuable data that can be collected, networked, and analyzed for a wide range of business, societal, and personal advances.”

Woherem observed that everything one can think of is now about to start being linked to every other thing in the world through the Internet adding that in the past, only computer servers were interconnected into the Internet, then eventually the laptops, tablets, and smartphones also got connected. Today, according to him, every other thing imaginable is about to start being linked to the Internet, leading to a world of Internet of Everything (IoE).

“Internet of Everything helps the cities and vehicle owners or drivers. The cities that embrace technology in the future will be the winners in the management of the increasing sizes of cities due to rural to city migration. Barcelona is one of those cities doing that today through IoE," he said.
“It is full of innovation and transforming into a smart city through the Internet of Everything. Job creation has increased due to smart city implementation. Elderly ones can put a piece of technology on their necks that helps them to be much more independent and enriches their quality of life. The Internet of Everything is also helping to remove the silos in departments and how many things were done," Woherem added.

He said Africa needs leaders that have a good vision of the modern Africa, countries, cities and villages they want to create to modernise, enhance economic growth, increase standard of living, make life more pleasant and convenient for her people. He, therefore, urged Africa to get ready to embrace the new trend, IoE.

“Since the evolution of the first and second industrial revolutions till date, Africa has been at the lower rung of the technology league table. Hence, Africa is the least developed continent economically and so the weakest in power, for there is a positive correlation between having technology and economic development. Europe, supported heavily by technology, started the first and second industrial revolutions with the US, and Asia followed, through Japan,” he stated.

According to him, billed to hold June 1-3, 2016, this year’s edition will see speakers touch such areas as infrastructure needs and the role of government; the environment, such as smart cities and homes, urban development; Agriculture; Security; Oil and Gas; Health and Life Style; Retail, among others.

Will Africa take the lead in the Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things (IoT) has become one of the most talked about technological trends in recent history. It can seem complex but is simply the concept of connecting many devices to the internet from washing machines and lights to wearable devices and Electronic gadgets that previously operated as stand-alone units with no interconnectivity. These devices can then communicate with each other and share relevant data.
As a key feature is sharing of content to relevant platforms, concern has been raised over how secure this data will be and the risks of hacking. Major investment must be made in the security of cloud-based data, so that no private information can be compromised.

Practical Applications
With an internet penetration rate of 16% and eight out of the 10 countries with the world’s lowest internet access rates, there are major barriers to the adoption of the IoT. However, there is clear growth potential. Consulting firm McKinsey estimates that by 2025 Africa will have tripled internet penetration to over 50%, or around 600m people, and as it does not have the same extensive infrastructure as Western countries, it can adapt its cities for IoT solutions more easily.
African businesses and individuals are expected to be impacted heavily. Full-scale integration of IoT could, for example, revolutionize medical care. A small chip could be implanted into hospital patients, allowing their vital signs to be monitored more accurately and easily than in any current system. Everyday applications of IoT connectivity in households could save Africans money, as the pooling of data from individual devices is shared and translated into information, which can regulate the usage of home applications and increase their energy efficiency.

Social Benefits
The promise of IoT enhancing life for individuals and society has been shown in small-scale projects, such as the addition of GM OnStar to GM’s cars. This automatically detects when the car has been in a collision, calls for assistance and provides the emergency services with the location.
Many industries can adopt IoT to better track assets, control inventory and limit inefficiencies. A simple yet highly effective usage of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication is in vending machines. Connected to the internet, they can share data to enable stock control, and alert the need for maintenance.
Embracing IoT will give companies a competitive edge in an ever-changing global marketplace and it can only go from strength to strength as the level of ICT literacy in Africa rises and the cost-benefit analysis of investment in IoT solutions becomes more heavily weighted in favour of the benefits. Africa is a continent of innovators with an entrepreneurial spirit, one of the many reasons why IoT can expect to play a powerful role in Africa’s economic development for the foreseeable future.

This year’s Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition will focus more on the challenges and also, proffer solutions for accelerating development for Africa with Internet of Everything (IoE)