The Internet of Things 2005
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International Telecommunication Union ITU INTERNET REPORTS THE INTERNET OF THINGS 2005 TThehe IInternetnternet ooff ITU INTERNET REPORTS 2005 ITU INTERNET REPORTS TThingshings Printed in Switzerland Geneva, 2005 This ITU Internet Report, the seventh in the series, has been produced by the ITU Strategy and Policy Unit (SPU). Other publications in the ITU Internet Reports series, as well as publications under the ITU New Initiatives Programme available for purchase, include: ITU Internet Reports series The Portable Internet (2004)........................................................................................ 100 CHF Birth of Broadband (2003) ......................................................................................... 100 CHF Internet for a Mobile Generation (2002) .................................................................... 100 CHF IP Telephony (2001) ................................................................................................... 100 CHF Internet for Development (1999) ................................................................................ 100 CHF Telecommunications and the Internet (1997) ............................................................. 100 CHF ITU New Initiatives series and related publications Building Digital Bridges (2005)................................................................................... 65 CHF Ubiquitous Network Societies (2005) ......................................................................... 80 CHF Countering Spam (2004) ............................................................................................. 65 CHF Shaping the Future Mobile Information Society (2004) .............................................. 65 CHF Internet Governance (2004) ......................................................................................... 65 CHF Radio Spectrum Management for a Converging World (2004) .................................. 65 CHF Promoting Broadband (with CD-ROM; 2003) ............................................................ 70 CHF Visions of the Information Society (2003) .................................................................. 60 CHF To order any of the above publications or for further information on activities of SPU, visit the website at www.itu.int/osg/spu. Alternatively, please contact the ITU Sales Service for further information concerning prices, availability or purchase, at [email protected]. All of the above publications can also be ordered and downloaded via the Internet at www.itu.int/publications/bookshop/. Discounts on printed publications are available for ITU Member States and Sector Members, and for administrations from least developed countries. In addition, there are a number of free downloads of country case studies, available at www.itu.int/casestudies, as well as other reports, presentations and position papers at www.itu.int/osg/spu/downloads/. Note: Discounts are available for ITU Member States and Sector Members, and for purchasers from the least developed countries. International Telecommunication Union ITU Internet Reports The Internet of Things November 2005 ITU, 2005 International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any means whatsoever, without the prior written permission of ITU. Denominations and classifications employed in this publication do not imply any opinion on the part of the International Telecommunication Union concerning the legal or other status of any territory or any endorsement or acceptance of any boundary. Where the designation “country” appears in this publication, it covers countries and territories. FOREWORD “The Internet of Things” is the seventh in the series of “ITU Internet Reports”, originally launched in 1997 under the title “Challenges to the Network”. This edition has been specially prepared for the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, to be held in Tunis from 16-18 November 2005. Technological advances in “always on” communications promise a world of networked and interconnected devices that will provide relevant content and information to users, wherever they may be located. Machine-to-machine communications and person-to-computer communications will be extended to things, from everyday household objects to sensors monitoring the movement of the Golden Gate Bridge or detecting earth tremors. Everything from tyres to toothbrushes will fall within communications range, heralding the dawn of a new era, one in which today’s internet (of data and people) gives way to tomorrow’s Internet of Things. The first chapter, Introducing the Internet of Things, explains the technical visions underlying the Internet of Things in ubiquitous networks, next-generation networks and ubiquitous computing. Chapter two, Enabling Technologies, examines the technologies that will drive the future Internet of Things, including radio-frequency identification (RFID), sensor technologies, smart things and nanotechnology and miniaturization. Chapter three, Shaping the Market, explores the market potential of these technologies, as well as factors inhibiting their market growth, and illustrates changing business models in three representative industries. Chapter four, Emerging Challenges, considers the wider implications of the Internet of Things for society, in standardization, privacy and socio-ethical challenges. Chapter five, Opportunities for the Developing World, examines the benefits these technologies offer to developing countries to address their concerns. Chapter six, The Big Picture, concludes by describing how a user might conduct their life in 2020 and summarizes the key interactions described in the book. The Statistical annex presents the latest data and charts for 206 economies worldwide in their use of ICTs. ITU, the United Nations specialized agency for telecommunications, is committed to playing a positive role in the development of the information society and to extending the benefits of advances in telephony and information and communication technologies (ICTs). This is in line with the Resolution of the highest administrative organ of ITU (Resolution 101 of the Plenipotentiary Conference (Minneapolis, 1998)), which calls upon ITU to “fully embrace the opportunities for telecommunication development that arise from the growth of IP-based services”, and ongoing calls from ITU’s Member States to continue to actively pursue this objective. The ITU Internet Reports are one contribution towards this commitment. FOREWORD I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The text of this report was prepared by a team from ITU’s Strategy and Policy Unit (SPU) led by Lara Srivastava, comprising Phillippa Biggs, Tim Kelly, Youlia Lozanova, Lilia Pérez Chavolla, Jaroslaw Ponder, Raushan Sagalbayeva, Svetlana Skvortsova and Christine Sund. The statistical tables were drawn from the ITU World Telecommunication Indicators Database and compiled by Phillippa Biggs. The report was edited by Phillippa Biggs and Lara Srivastava. Special thanks go to Jean-Jacques Mendez for the cover design, and to Isabelle Lucas for assistance with the overall formatting. Some of the research for this report was carried out under the “New Initiatives Programme”, launched in 1999 (http://www.itu.int/ni). Under this programme, relevant workshops have been held on “Shaping the Future Mobile Information Society” on 4-5 March 2004 in Seoul, Republic of Korea (http://www.itu.int/futuremobile), on “Ubiquitous Network Societies” on 6-8 April 2005 in Geneva, Switzerland (http://www.itu.int/ubiquitous) and on “Tomorrow’s network today” on 7-8 October 2005, in Saint-Vincent, Italy (http://www.itu.int/TNT). The report has benefited from the input and comments of many people to whom we owe our thanks. Among others, we would like to thank Jawad Abbassi, Khevin Curry, Ewa Gawora, Olivia Gibney, Liz Hall, Dana Khatib, Michael Minges, Hoda Mottaghi, Jeanine Vos, as well as Maria Cristina Bueti, Simao de Campos Neto, Colin Langtry and Robert Shaw. Thanks also go to all those who gave their generous permission to use material reproduced in the report. We would like to thank the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan, whose generous support has allowed us to expand our case study and research programme. We would also like to express our gratitude to respondents from public telecommunication operators, internet service providers, regulatory bodies and national administrations who helped by providing specific information and data related to the development of the relevant technologies in their countries. Some of the data contained in this report is taken from the ITU World Telecommunication Indicators Database, managed by the Market, Economics and Finance Unit (formerly the Telecommunication Data and Statistics Unit) of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT). The Database is available on CD-ROM, or via the internet as a subscription service. All of ITU's indicator reports and databases are available for purchase, on the internet, at http://www.itu.int/indicators. For more information on ITU Internet Reports, including a summary of this edition, visit http://www.itu.int/internetofthings/. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ITU or its membership. II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS page Foreword .................................................................................................................................................