Ericsson Partners With KDDI To Drive IoT Connectivity

Swedish communication technology and services giant Ericsson (ST:ERICAs) (NASDAQ:ERIC) has teamed up with leading Japanese operator KDDI to enable deployment of Ericsson Device Connection Platform (“DCP”). They also successfully verified cellular low power wide area (“LPWA”) technologies, which will also aid in rapid deployment of a broad range of IoT (Internet of Things) applications.

DCP: A Cloud-Based IoT Platform

Through DCP, KDDI will be able to leverage Ericsson’s connection with world carriers and offer seamless multinational connectivity, as its customers begin worldwide IoT deployments. DCP will empower KDDI to deliver IoT connectivity management, network connectivity administration, subscription management and flexible billing services to enterprises.

The platform will lower entry and total ownership costs, increasing the financial viability of IoT for device manufacturers, enterprises and service providers, as they capitalize on the growth of connected devices.

Thus, it will enable firms to install, manage and scale IoT connected devices and applications worldwide, while enhancing operational and cost efficiency. By making it economically viable, the partnership is playing an important role in enabling the adoption of cellular services for IoT devices.

LPWA technologies

Ericsson and KDDI demonstrated cellular LPWA technologies based on 3GPP release 13 by using Ericsson's network equipment. The two companies have specifically focused on Cat-M1 and NB-IoT, and will continue to study possible uses of LPWA technologies.

Ericsson's new software product – Massive IoT RAN – enables its LTE base stations (including those in KDDI's network) to support cellular LPWA. KDDI will thus be able to deploy varying IoT applications swiftly and flexibly.

IoT: Growth Expectations

Ericsson has been committed to lowering the thresholds for firms looking to enter into IoT arena, as well as to connecting people, businesses and society by taking down barriers between industries.

A mounting range of applications and business models is resulting in a proliferation in connected devices. Per Ericsson, there will be over 28 billion connected devices by 2021, of which about 16 billion are likely to be IoT connected devices.

Ericsson’s efforts to explore new use cases for both short and long-range applications will accelerate IoT growth further, thus driving the evolution of the IoT.

We believe that Ericsson and its partners will emerge as key players in defining IoT and the next generation of mobile network technology.

However, stiff competition, spectrum crunch issues and currency fluctuations have been weighing on this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company’s performance lately.

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader computer & technology space include Ubiquiti Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBNT) , Exa Corporation (NASDAQ:EXA) and Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).