Laura Acosta Jorrín

We are in the midst of one of the biggest technological revolutions, where digitization is transforming industries, supply chains and the way companies operate and interact with their customers. This change is heading towards a fully digitized world, where almost everything from cars to everyday objects will be connected to the Internet. Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and mobile communications networks are central to this process, enabling devices to communicate with each other and with external platforms, improving efficiency, security, and convenience. This digital transformation is accelerating for two main reasons. Enterprises are adopting IoT technologies to improve their competitiveness through automation and real-time data analysis. IoT helps companies optimize operations, make informed decisions, and adapt to market demands. The development of new connectivity technologies, such as 5G and LPWA (NB-IoT, LTE-M) mobile networks, has expanded the scope of IoT, enabling new use cases and contributing to the increase in connected devices. Using these advanced technologies opens up new possibilities for IoT products and services. Because of this, the global IoT network has been growing exponentially, and will reach more than 5 billion connections by 2030, representing the next digital revolution and demonstrating the importance of having a platform that manages connectivity among companies and devices. What is Kite Platform Telefónica Tech's Kite Platform is a managed connectivity solution, developed entirely with our own resources, through which customers can control and monitor their devices in real time and remotely, from anywhere in the world. Kite includes the standard functionalities of other managed connectivity platforms on the market, such as inventory control, remote control of the SIM lifecycle, or billing management. However, it also has differential managed connectivity functionalities such as real-time control of spending and consumption of traffic generated by IoT devices. This allows customers to implement not only usage controls but also spending controls. It also has geolocation based on mobile ID that allows customers to know the location and movements made by their devices, the definition of alarms or automatic rules to control the use of devices and the management of white/black lists for IMEIS and MSISDN to control communications and prevent possible fraudulent or unwanted uses. A constantly evolving solution Kite has capabilities that go far beyond mere connectivity management, and thanks to being an internally developed platform, its functionalities evolve year after year to meet the different needs of customers and the constantly evolving market. Kite has continued to differentiate its capabilities, focusing on innovation, technological evolution, and new functionalities. AI capabilities and advanced analytics We at Telefónica Tech are committed to innovation and make it a reality through technologies such as Artificial Intelligence. With Kite, we continue to invest in the best analytical capabilities so that our clients can drive their businesses forward. Kite incorporates advanced Machine Learning techniques to understand device behavior patterns and detect anomalies in data, voice, and SMS consumption to optimize resources and detect possible unwanted usage. Device management with Kite Platform Kite also has device management capabilities, capable of reducing device complexity, lowering device costs, ensuring E2E security up to the Clouds: Thanks to IoT Device Control we move the complexity of the device to the SIM, obtaining data on demand from the device such as location, battery level or coverage, allowed radio technologies, or even allowing a remote reset of the device, avoiding costs and travel time. We move the complexity of the device to kite with IoT Data Ready, extending battery life, reducing data consumption, simplifying the device, and thus reducing its cost and avoiding the use of complex certificates and protocols. 5G IoT Edge: we move the complexity of the device to the Edge being able to store the data in our edges improving the operational efficiency of our customers. 5G and NB-IoT connectivity Kite also incorporates the latest technologies such as 5G and NB-IoT, to offer the best services and always under the most advanced level of security. As well as Network slicing capabilities for use cases that involve critical communications and require dedicated resources. Kite Platform is therefore able to simplify the management of IoT connectivity and large volumes of connected devices, facilitating the massification of IoT solutions. Telefónica Tech has been a leader in the Internet of Things sector for many years. We have developed and have the best networks and platforms for our customers to transform their businesses through technology. Applications and use cases This has led us to have more than 50 million IoT devices connected in our networks today, which are deployed around the world, in more than 190 countries. And giving life to numerous use cases: Fleet Management. Financial services. Asset track. Connected car. Agriculture. Smart cities. Industry. Although there have been numerous IoT use cases for many years, there are many others that have not yet been developed because terrestrial networks do not reach all locations, such as remote locations: Renewable energy sector managing wind farms or solar farms in hard-to-reach places. Maritime transport when you need to accurately track the status and location of your goods. In livestock farming for monitoring and control of animals in certain geographical situations, far from cities or towns. In agriculture operating in rural areas or in large remote regions. All these use cases are more evident in continents such as the Americas, where the geographical extensions are larger than in Europe and, additionally, the difficulty added by the orography of the terrain itself. 5G via satellite for global IoT connectivity Only 30% of the surface has some kind of terrestrial network coverage, and that is why satellite coverage with a focus on IoT is a perfect complement to existing terrestrial networks. Together with other partners such as Sateliot, Slylo or Inmarsat, we are developing an innovative solution that will allow customers to have the best global connectivity solution in the market. In this way, we have brought 5G network coverage to space for the first time in history using a conventional SIM card integrated into Telefónica Tech's Kite platform. Opening the door to IoT connectivity anywhere on the planet. These partners are developing 5G NB-IoT constellations of LEO (Low Earth Orbit) nanosatellites. These constellations consist of small and efficient satellites typically located at 500 to 600 kilometers altitude to configure an IoT NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) connectivity network capable of integrating with Telefónica's 5G network. The solution we are developing is an affordable and transparent solution for our customers, based on IoT connectivity via satellite under the same 3GPP standard as 5G and NB-IoT networks. It is also compatible with the same devices currently in use thanks to the development and certification of hybrid connectivity modules. ✅ The solution complies with open and interoperable market standards so that customers will be able to use the same NB-IoT devices that are already being massively deployed. That is, any conventional IoT device will be able to work simultaneously with terrestrial and satellite 5G NB-IoT networks, so that NB-IoT devices will connect by default to the always available terrestrial NB-IoT mobile networks, and in those remote areas, where there is no coverage, they will connect transparently to the new satellite network. Hybrid IoT connectivity with Kite Platform The standardization of this hybrid IoT connectivity technology will make it affordable and scalable, and reduce adoption friction, providing significant benefits to its users: On the one hand, it offers global coverage in remote areas and territories without network infrastructure or mobile coverage. It offers coverage without shadow zones, no matter how remote the location of the customer's IoT device, providing full coverage and helping to bridge the digital divide between regions. On the other hand, it offers backup coverage to reinforce mobile network coverage and ensure service continuity in case of interruption due to incidents or natural disasters. In addition, customers will use the Kite Platform as they are doing now and will be able to manage the new satellite network connections from Kite, since the solution we are developing with our partners not only allows using the same IoT devices that are already on the market, but also the same SIM card. Whether connected through a conventional network or through a satellite network, connectivity can be managed through our Kite Platform. Moreover, the developed solution is equivalent to having a conventional roaming agreement, but with a satellite operator, which, from a technical point of view, reduces the adoption time of this technology. Meanwhile, from a commercial point of view, this roaming agreement is more affordable than existing solutions on the market. In this way, Telefónica Tech, thanks to Kite and its networks, is able to simplify IoT deployments, facilitate the management of massive deployments regardless of their location, and offer customers an end-to-end solution, becoming an essential partner to improve the activity of companies and drive progress. AI of Things How global IoT satellite connectivity works September 12, 2023