Focusing on the area of industrial safety and security

In fact, it is easy to overlook the fact that the industrial market in the Internet of Things (IoT) is several times larger than the home market we are familiar with.

This is likely why market research firms predict that the industrial IoT market will open up faster and on a larger scale. The industrial IoT market also occupies an important position in concepts such as Industry 4.0 and smart factories, which have recently been sweeping through the industrial sector.

Accordingly, global companies such as GE, Schneider, Emerson Process Management, and Honeywell, which have played a leading role in the industrial automation solution market, are preparing for Industry 4.0 by launching industrial IoT platforms.

Industrial IoT is used as a term to describe a situation where a single piece of equipment interacts and communicates with other equipment, objects, environments, and infrastructure. Such communication has generated a massive amount of data, and this data must undergo processing and analysis to produce meaningful results that can be reflected in management and control in order to contribute to efficient production activities.

LG Uplus showcased a wide range of industrial IoT services at the 'Smart City Innovation Summit Asia 2016 (SCISA 2016)' held at KINTEX last September.

So, how are domestic telecommunications companies, currently engaged in fierce competition in the IoT industry, responding to the industrial Internet of Things market?

As mentioned earlier, global SI companies that hold a tight grip on the industrial infrastructure sector are also leading the industrial IoT market. This means there are clearly limitations to telecommunications companies penetrating this core market. In other words, the barriers are bound to be much higher than in the home sector.

First, telecommunications companies are taking different paths regarding communication methods. KT and LG Uplus have announced that they will lead the Internet of Things market centered on NB-IoT (NarrowBand-Internet of Things) technology. Based on high stability, the strategy is to utilize it in various ways, not only for Smart Cities such as smart streetlights and smart metering, but also in IoT fields for safety and environmental industries, such as detecting building anomalies and measuring fine dust.

These companies have identified utility sectors, such as remote metering, as the first projects to pursue through the construction of NB-IoT networks, and in the industrial IoT sector, they intend to approach it through logistics management such as cargo tracking, environmental management such as hazardous gas monitoring, and production efficiency improvements such as monitoring key facilities by building dedicated NB-IoT networks for enterprises.

Considering the characteristics of the IoT industry, where data volumes and speeds vary widely, SK Telecom has commercialized a LoRa network nationwide separately from its LTE and LTE-M networks and is operating a hybrid IoT network. This means utilizing the optimal wireless network according to communication frequency, capacity, and purpose, such as using the LoRa network, which is a dedicated IoT network, for services that intermittently exchange small amounts of data, the LTE-M network for areas requiring real-time control, and the LTE network for areas requiring video, such as CCTVs.

Let's take a closer look at LG Uplus's industrial IoT business. The company's strategy is to build a dedicated LTE network for corporate customers, thereby guaranteeing coverage compared to existing wireless networks such as Wi-Fi and strengthening data security. In short, with a strategy focused on security and safety, the company offers six major services. First, industrial live cameras allow users to monitor whether work is being done properly; smartphone walkie-talkies replace traditional, heavy, and unreliable walkie-talkies; and site access management provides services for managing hazardous areas. In addition, it enables the control of wireless remote equipment through measurement monitoring, the prevention of accidents within the factory through safe vehicle operation, and efficient logistics management through smart vehicle control.

SK Telecom also provides an integrated building management solution that utilizes sensors and tags to manage worker safety and facilities at manufacturing and construction sites, and announced its 'Smart Construction Solution' last October. Based on the IoT network and the IoT platform ThingPlug, this solution enables immediate response in the event of an accident by installing intelligent CCTVs, gas sensors, vibration sensors, and fire detection sensors on structures at construction sites. By having workers wear access cards or wristband-type smart tags to communicate organically with their surroundings, it allows for the integrated real-time management of various safety information, thereby reducing accidents. It appears that this solution can be directly applied to general manufacturing sites as well.

As such, telecommunications companies are concentrating their capabilities on industrial safety and security based on dedicated IoT networks. We should closely monitor the moves of these carriers as they expand their market share across various IoT sectors.