OREANDA-NEWS. December 18, 2015. 2015 was not only the year the Internet of Things (IoT) made it into the dictionary, but it was also the year IoT began to truly transform the way we work and live every day.

AT&T signed more than 300 deals this year, across the U.S. and abroad, to connect devices across the automotive, shipping, industrial, health care, home security and smart cities sectors.

About 25 million connected devices[1] are now on the AT&T network, a year-over-year increase of more than 25 percent when compared to 3Q 2014.  In the 3rd quarter alone, we added a record of more than 1.6 million connected devices. Of that number, 1 million were connected cars.

 “This year was pivotal for IoT. We saw, and are continuing to see, tremendous global interest and adoption from virtually every industry,” said Ralph de la Vega, CEO, AT&T Mobile and Business Solutions. “Our IoT solutions help you monitor cargo, homes, vehicles and containers around the globe. You can connect light posts and water systems, wheelchairs, trash cans and soil. Connectivity is changing how companies operate and how people interact. Just wait until next year. We think 2016 will be the year when IoT becomes an indispensable part of our daily lives as consumers, governments and businesses fully embrace all it has to offer.”

Glenn Lurie, president and CEO, AT&T Mobility added, “We continue to set ourselves apart from other carriers in the IoT space. We invested early and continue to invest in IoT platforms - pushing innovation through industry collaborations and development of new uses cases for IoT that solve real problems.”

Lurie discusses his thoughts on the biggest achievements this year.  

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Leadership
Connected Car
Fleet

More Connected Cars Hit the Road in 2015

Drivers value services that improve their driving experience, and wireless connectivity is key. A July 2015 global study by Ericsson and AT&T Drive Studio found that nearly 80% of car buyers globally would put off a new car purchase by a year to get connected features from their preferred brand.

In addition, we’re leading the industry, working with 9 top automakers. We have 5.8 million connected cars on the AT&T network as of the 3rd quarter, and expect to connect more than 50% of all new connected U.S. passenger vehicles by year-end.

Here’s a snapshot of our major connected car news and initiatives from 2015:

  • Announced an agreement with Subaru to provide 4G LTE connectivity for Subaru’s STARLINK in-vehicle connectivity system. It delivers improved personal safety and security services to vehicle occupants.
  • Announced an agreement with Audi of America, in which all 2016 model-year Audi vehicles equipped with Audi connect® will come with AT&T 4G LTE or 3G connectivity.
  • Launched the ZTE Mobley Wi-Fi hotspot and Car Connection 2.0 service using a plug-in device that works with most cars 1996 and newer. With more than 160 million cars on the road in the U.S. today that have on-board diagnostic ports (OBDII), people now can enjoy many connected car services right from their smartphone.

Connecting Business to Improve Processes

Businesses are also realizing the benefits of IoT. They can connect factory equipment, global shipping containers, farm gear, industrial ovens, fleets or remote workers. IoT helps reduce operational costs, automates processes and saves time.

Examples of significant business activity this year:

  • Maersk is using our IoT technology to track shipping containers and keep perishable contents at the desired temperature.  Our agreement with Maersk is one of the largest Industrial IoT deployments of its kind.
  • We’re working with Rockwell Automation to deliver a solution that lets Rockwell Automation’s customers securely collect, manage and act on data, such as maintenance or malfunction alerts from global industrial equipment. The IoT solution makes machines smarter.
  • Roof Monitor™ is using our IoT technology to offer Roof Sensor™, which monitors live loads of water and snow on the roofs of low-sloped buildings and informs businesses of potential risk. Roof Monitor is also using Edge Defense™, an intricate safety mat system with internal sensors that alert individuals in real-time when the perimeter of a roof is breached.

Helping Cities Tap Into the Power of IoT

With more than a century of working with local cities, we’re helping communities across the country realize the benefits of IoT:

  • We’re connecting utility grids, smart meters, water management systems, lighting and city infrastructure to increase efficiency and decrease waste of resources.
  • In addition to the millions of connected devices directly connecting to our cellular network, we also manage data from millions of other smart meters that connect indirectly over our network through wireless gateways.

We’re building alliances with key organizations leading the charge including:

  • The Smart Cities Council and the Dallas Innovation Alliance to help build smart cities around the world.
  • UC Berkeley, Caltrans and AT&T Labs are exploring how data can help reduce traffic congestion and improve urban planning.  
  • As part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Global City Teams Challenge, we teamed up with IBM and Mueller Water Products to create a new smart energy solution to help cities save water.

Connected Devices Lead to Health Improvements

From the hospital to your wrist, we’re helping healthcare pros stay in touch with their patients. IoT also empowers people to take control of their health.

  • We launched more than 14 new wearable devices this year. Many of those help you track your everyday activities and take control of your health and wellness.
  • We’re working with Dr. Lynda Chin of the Institute for Health Transformation at the University of Texas System to develop technology that provides personalized diabetes care outside the doctor’s office.
  • Our Remote Patient Monitoring solution is a cloud-based service that monitors patient’s vital signs after they leave the hospital.

Tools to Help Make IoT Implementation Easier

  • Highly Secure Global SIM: A system that allows AT&T to provide wireless connections virtually anywhere in the world (200+ countries and territories).
  • AT&T Control Center: A platform that enables easier device certification, activation and ordering, as well as setting up solutions and underlying connectivity.
  • AT&T Drive Platform: A connected car platform offering a modular, global solution that lets automakers pick and choose what services and capabilities are important to them.
  • Flow Designer: A new cloud-based visual development tool aimed at speeding the development time required to build new IoT applications.
  • M2X Data Service: A managed service for developers that helps them create new IoT applications. It includes a cloud-based data store that makes it easier to collect, analyze, and share time-series data from connected devices. The platform is already in-market supporting 8,000+ developers.
  • IoT AT&T Foundry in Plano: An innovation center dedicated to digitizing the physical world through sensors and connected devices.  The AT&T Foundry team works with customers to bring their ideas to reality as quickly as possible.
  • AT&T Labs Advanced Technologies: Goes beyond today’s current solutions to invent disruptive technologies that will drive future innovations. 
  • IoT Hackathons: AT&T hosted 22 IoT focused hackathons in 2015 with an overall attendance of more than 3,000 participants.

With IoT pervasive across of all of these industries, connecting things from cars to pacemakers, it’s essential to keep security top of mind. AT&T is using its expertise and leadership in IoT to continually advise manufacturers, partners, and vendors to architect and connect devices in a highly secure manner. We are also committed to continuing the education of business leaders on keeping the IoT highly secure, and providing solutions that help them to do so.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc. 

[1] Consists primarily of machine-to-machine devices as well as prepaid tablets.