Internet of Things (IoT)

Introduction

The number of connected devices in the Internet of Things is growing very fast. The IoT is having a transformative influence on the way we live and work in domains including connected vehicles, eHealth, home automation and energy management, public safety and industrial process control, and smart cities.

Standardizing the IoT

Smart objects produce large volumes of data. This data needs to be managed, processed, transferred and stored securely. Standardization is key to achieving universally accepted specifications and protocols for true interoperability between devices and applications.

The use of standards:

• ensures interoperable and cost-effective solutions
• opens up opportunities in new areas
• allows the market to reach its full potential

The more things are connected, the greater the security risk. So, security standards are also needed to protect the individuals, businesses and governments which will use the IoT.

The ETSI IoT Week 2019 took place from 21-25 October 2019.

You missed the event? Watch the interviews and feedback in our video filmed during the event in our HQs:

The latest ETSI IoT (week) Conference was held on 4-6 July 2023.

Our Role & Activities

The main ETSI IoT standardization activities are conducted at radio layer in 3GPP (LTE-M, NB-IoT and EC‑GSM-IoT) and at service layer in oneM2M. A wide range of technologies work together to connect things in the Internet of Things (IoT). ETSI is involved in standardizing many of these technologies:

Smart Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications

ETSI is one of the founding partners in oneM2M, the global standards initiative that covers requirements, architecture, Application Programming Interface (API) specifications, security solutions and interoperability for M2M and IoT technologies.

IoT Semantic Interoperability

SAREF is our Smart Applications REFerence ontology that allows connected devices to exchange semantic information in many applications’ domains.

Context Information Management (NGSI-LD)

ETSI ISG CIM specifies protocols (NGSI-LD API) running ‘on top’ of IoT platforms and allowing exchange of data together with its context, this includes what is described by the data, what was measured, when, where, by what, the time of validity, ownership, and others. This is dramatically extending the interoperability of applications, helping smart cities (and other areas such as Smart Agriculture and Smart Manufacturing) to integrate their existing services and enable new third-party services.

Applications in the IoT

Within ETSI we are addressing various applications of IoT/M2M technology:

• Smart appliances
• Smart grids and meters
• Smart cities – including networking, energy efficiency and accessibility
• Smart Energy, Smart Environment, Smart Building, Smart Industry and Manufacturing, Smart Agri‑Food, eHealth and Ageing-Well, Wearables, Smart Water, Smart Lift, Smart Escalators and Smart Maritime
• eHealth
  
• • Telemedicine and the Internet Clinic
  • Medical implants
  • Body Area Networks
  • Pandemic protection, contact tracing
• Intelligent Transport Systems – including telematics and all types of communications in vehicles, between vehicles and between vehicles and fixed locations. We also address the use of Information and Communications Technologies for rail, water and air transport, including navigation systems.
• Wireless Industrial Automation – standards for radio equipment to be used in factories

Supporting the IoT

• Privacy, Safety and Security for the IoT – various aspects of security such as electronic signatures, lawful interception, security algorithms and smart cards as well as cybersecurity
• Low power supplies in the IoT:
  • Ultra Low Energy Digital Cordless Telecommunications (DECT™ ULE)
• Radio spectrum requirements – helping to find the necessary radio spectrum for connecting things wirelessly in the IoT.
• Embedded communications modules – We have developed a baseline specification using Surface Mount Technology. This will simplify the integration of modules from different manufacturers in a wide range of M2M applications.

Consumer IoT security Road Map

See the details of the Consumer IoT security Road Map.

Standards

A full list of related standards in the public domain is accessible via the ETSI standards search.