Nokia has called on the telco industry to collaborate on open standards for the Internet of Things, as Tata Communications revealed plans to deploy a LoRa-based IoT network in India.
Nokia said that while the 3GPP is working to standardise IoT connectivity, those enabling interoperability and a “raft of other technologies needed for IoT” are missing.
The Finnish vendor said standardisation needed to be extended to areas such as applications enablement, analytics, security, location mapping, indoor positioning and smart sensors, all of which are “highly proprietary” and currently do not support interoperability.
It added that telcos, equipment vendors and “other key industry players” needed to come together to develop a framework for end-to-end IoT deployments using open standards.
This is particularly crucial for deployment scenarios like smart cities and public safety, the company said, adding that common standards and interfaces would reduce market fragmentation caused by proprietary IoT solutions.
[Read more: LPWAN set to damage operators’ hold on IoT market]
Earlier this week, a senior Vodafone Group executive said the operator is “on the verge of losing patience” with 3GPP over standardisation issues.
Brian Partridge, Vice President 451 Research Mobility team, said: “In mobile communications the use of standards ensures we enjoy seamless interworking between multivendor network components and different operator networks.
“For future IoT systems, multiple applications from various vendors must work in concert, connected and integrated in the Cloud and at the network edge.
“Breaking the cycle of building proprietary IoT application silos in market after market will require more adoption of common standards and frameworks with open interfaces to achieve seamless interoperability.”