Competitive Carriers Say They Have Much at Stake in Successful IoT

NTIA should keep the interests of competitive carriers in mind in its April request for comment on the government's role in encouraging the growth of the IoT (see 1604060030), the Competitive Carriers Association said in a Thursday news release. Comments were due Thursday. The IoT “is here and ever-growing, and to remain competitive in the marketplace and provide consumers with the services they want and demand, competitive carriers must incorporate IoT into their business plans,” said CCA President Steve Berry. “There is a lot NTIA, the FCC and Congress can do to make sure IoT technology is widely, competitively deployed. For example, there are several proceedings before the FCC, including the Spectrum Frontiers proceeding, the incentive auction, and the business data services proceeding, that will have a huge impact on IoT development and deployment, and I strongly encourage the Commission to consider the impact that these proceedings will have on competitive carriers’ abilities to provide IoT opportunities to their customers.” ACT|The App Association, which provided us its comments to NTIA, said the security and privacy of users’ data through end-to-end encryption is vital to maintain trust and rejected calls (see 1604180048) from law enforcement for back doors to such encrypted devices and data. The group also emphasized coordination among federal agencies as “essential” for IoT to progress. Such coordination will help “avoid duplicative or conflicting regulations and parallel efforts,” among other benefits, the group said.