With $14.4 trillion projected industry growth over the next decade and $1.7 trillion in the next five years there’s a lot of money to be made in the IoT! ABI Research also predicts there will be 14 billionBluetooth devices by 2020 and China is helping it get there. With nearly all phones and tablets containing Bluetooth, consumers and enterprises have a ready user interface to the IoT.

China Poised for Growth

In the rapidly growing Chinese market, the IoT is poised to explode. I recently traveled to China where I spoke at several major trade shows, met with companies and government agencies, and spoke with the media on behalf of Bluetooth. I saw a lot of great new products and services supporting the IoT but the highlight was all the intriguing discussions I had at the Smart Home Forum in Shanghai Intelligent Building Technology (SIBT) and Shanghai Smart Home Technology (SSHT) trade show, and the Wireless China Industry Summit 2016.

At the Wireless China Industry Summit, I spoke to an audience of over 700 about Bluetooth 5, coming mesh technology improvements and the Bluetooth roadmap. 

The ballroom was packed full of attendees waiting to hear about how they can utilize Bluetooth.

Bluetooth is a Collaborative Technology

The “Wireless Connectivity Technologies for IoT” panel discussion was especially intriguing, and not just because it was moderated by the Ministry of Information and Industry Technology. Part of the discussion centered around how Bluetooth is complements other technologies. In fact it’s a very collaborative technology and we have several partnerships including AirFuel Alliance for wireless charging, NFC for touch-to-pair, FIDO for Bluetooth in 2 Factor authentication and the Wi-Fi alliance for Transport Discovery Service.

I also had an opportunity to meet with the Radio Regulatory Bureau to talk about Bluetooth advancements and how it enables the Smart Home and the IoT. 

Experiencing China

While staying in Beijing, I took part in some unique experiences. I fulfilled a few bucket list items including seeing the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, and even ate some famous Beijing Duck. I am looking forward to my next trip to China. When I take my next trip, Bluetooth 5 will be adopted and mesh technology will have launched—timing for these two incredible technologies to support rapid IoT growth couldn’t be better.

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(Credit: Kevin Griffin)