Industry Focused on Security, Privacy, Say FCBA Speakers

With CES in Las Vegas in weeks, industry is focused on security and privacy, FCBA heard Monday. “We’ve been able to see industry all coming together” on those, said Melanie Tiano, CTIA director-cybersecurity and privacy. “We’ve seen everyone coming forward with their privacy principles.” Panelists said consensus is privacy should be addressed federally. Smart homes, smart speakers and home robots are expected to lead IoT growth in 2020, said Rachel Nemeth, CTA director-regulatory affairs. Devices are getting better at talking to each other, she said. Artificially intelligent devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home are a category to watch, she said. “The better they get at doing what consumers want them to do, the more we see the adoption over time,” she said. “Demand is there because I keep getting called” about the IoT, said Jeffrey Marks, Nokia head-regulatory affairs, North America. “How is this private network going to work?” people ask, he said: “Do they need licensed spectrum?” Industry is ready, he said: Nokia is focused on finding trustworthy vendors and eliminating threat factors. Huawei and ZTE push “a false narrative” that without them, 5G deployment will slow, Marks said. “That’s just not true. It is going to thrive just fine.” Those two Chinese companies didn’t comment.