Intel and AT&T dramatically accelerate IoT time to market

Intel LTE IOT Quick Deployment Drastically Lowers Cost and Gets You to Market in Weeks

By Dipti Vachani

Internet of Things (IoT) devices utilize a wide variety of network protocols and standards to connect devices to each other and the cloud. The “always on,” highly available and secure characteristics of the cellular-based network offer many competitive advantages. However, LTE-based cellular networks traditionally require extra regulatory restrictions and several months of planning and coordination. Not to mention, the development, testing and evaluation costs for network certification could require upwards of $1 million and take as long as a year to design, develop and deploy a solution.

In order to minimize the time and money associated with bringing new LTE-based IoT solutions to market, Intel is introducing a new category of ready-to-deploy commercial LTE-based devices via the Intel® LTE IOT Quick Deployment (Intel® LIQD) Program. AT&T* will be the first major carrier to work with Intel. Together, Intel and AT&T* will help deploy IoT devices on the network more quickly to better address the projected 50 billion device opportunity that is expected by 2020¹ .

Fact Sheet: Intel® LTE IoT Quick Deployment (Intel® LIQD) Program

Through the Intel LIQD Program, we will enable select OEMs and carriers to deliver smart and connected devices that businesses can deploy in weeks instead of months. Customers utilizing Intel LIQD devices will also be able to move from concept stage to large deployments without the engineering or technical burden of building a custom solution.

The first OEM partner to launch a device as part of the Intel LIQD Program is Sonim Technologies. The XPi device² is the first device from Sonim in this category of quick deployment, ultra-rugged industrial IoT devices. The commercial device comes with carrier pre-certification and a configurable set of embedded sensors, which can be securely managed remotely. The XPi is based on the Intel® Quark™ SE Microcontroller C1000, an Intel® XMM™ 7120 modem (Sierra Wireless HL Series module*), and offers users a scalable IoT sensor platform with Bluetooth Smart connectivity and the capability to access AT&T’s platform solutions (M2X). With these key building blocks, enterprises are able to deliver turn-key asset and condition monitoring applications for a variety of different usage scenarios with minimal engineering effort.

What does it mean to the industry? The possibilities are limitless. Businesses can use the resulting solution to measure temperatures at industrial and manufacturing facilities, to monitor the condition of valuable cargo on trucks and to monitor assets in the field like livestock and motorized equipment. The long-term benefit of this initiative comes from the increased operational efficiency coupled with highly optimized device hardware and software resulting in increased scale and better ROI. In the short term, the program enables carriers and device manufacturers to better coordinate and deploy easy-to-use, cloud-ready device and service offerings, which will increasingly be required to accommodate the future of 5G.

Sonim XPi, the first Intel LIQD-based product, is expected to be available by mid-2017 at under $149.

Dipti Vachani is Vice President, Internet of Things Group, Strategy and Technology at Intel Corporation.

The XPi by Sonim Technologies Inc., a provider of ultra-rugged communications equipment used in extreme environments, is the first product launched as a part of the Intel LIQD Program. (Credit: Sonim Technologies Inc.)

¹ Cisco Global Cloud Index: Forecast and Methodology, 2013–2018 (white paper).

² This device has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.