Embedded Wireless Taking off, But Certification Is Key
End-to-end Internet-enabled devices are replacing stand- alone consumer electronic devices with configurations of customer experiences and providers, said speakers on a Fierce Wireless webinar Tuesday. With the help of stimulus money, embedded devices will gain significant adoption in health care and utility markets, in addition to consumer electronic markets, they said. The trend, which is changing the carriers’ business models, requires players to concentrate on certification and testing and simplify them, they said.
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Increasing the number of network-enabled consumer electronics products is the long tail, which will be pronounced as the industry consolidates and standardizes on core platforms at each layer of the device stack, including user interface, operating system and chips, said Miguel Myhrer, a partner at Accenture, a technology-service company. He forecast that by 2017 most consumer devices will need connectivity to work. Operators are lining up to make money on connected devices, resulting the creation of many start-ups, he said.
For operators, embedded strategy starts with changing customers’ experience, said Glenn Lurie, AT&T’s president of emerging devices. That means adding billing options, including postpaid, prepaid, per-session and daily, and a shift in customer service toward an on-screen relationship and “pro-active” diagnostics, he said. Device subsidies will become smaller and variable, he said. Carriers are looking into innovative, tailored billing plans in response to a need for flexible connections, varying by location, said Victoria Obenshain, Panasonic’s director of wireless strategy. There’s a lot of emphasis on health care and smart grid programs in the stimulus bill, and they will take up embedded wireless most, speakers said.
To get devices to market, companies must get regulatory and operator approvals. Precertification is a key approach because it reduces costs and efforts for inexperienced 3G and 4G wireless device manufacturers and reduces the time to market, said Paul Guckian, Qualcomm’s vice president of engineering. Technical challenges to embedding 3G or 4G wireless on unconventional devices include host device interference coupling into the 3G or 4G module receiver, resulting in a reduced performance, said Richard Hammer, the senior director of business alliances at Intertek, a testing company. He warned that it’s best to avoid voice applications because of the added regulatory requirements and pointed to the FCC’s E-911 rules. One way to simplify certification is to make use of the streamlined network and regulatory certification processes adopted for embedded notebooks, Hammer said. Using industry guidance documents for embedded 3G devices and participating in cross-industry indicatives are important too, he said.
An open network in an embedded wireless environment offers more affordable service options and easier sales because of the absence of complicated activation, and creates more diverse product set and better distribution, said Jian Khodadad, director of market development at Clearwire. But operators would have less control, he said.