The three-day dockworker strike that crippled East and Gulf Coast ports put a spotlight on one of America’s most important jobs: loading and unloading the billions of products — from food to cars — that keep the U.S. economy humming.
Although the work stoppage has ended for now, the labor dispute reflects how robots, artificial intelligence and other potent technologies are changing the nature of operations in the nation’s supply chains and in other industries.
“We’re really at a moment here where we’re taking about the future of work and what that looks like in America and around the world,” John Samuel, managing director with consulting firm AlixPartners, told CBS News. “And so, how do we combine the natural evolutions of technology with the right to human decency and human work?”
The tentative agreement announced on Friday between the International Longshoremen’s Association — which led last week’s strike — and the United States Maritime Alliance, bridges the divide on wages, giving dockworkers an immediate $4 per hour raise and a $24 per hour pay hike over a six-year labor contract.
Yet the pact doesn’t resolve worker concerns over automation. Read on to learn about what dockworkers do and how new technologies are changing the job.
From boxes, bails and bundles to containers
In recent decades, longshore work has been transformed by technology, a key sticking point in the labor dispute that pitted unionized workers against shipping companies and port operators.
Dockworkers handle freight by loading and unloading cargo ships that come to port. Up until the late 1950s, that meant carrying boxes, bails and bundles of goods by hand from incoming ships into storage, before loading them onto trains for transport to their final destination.
Today, cargo is stored in large, standardized containers — designed to be transported by ship, rail or truck — that dockworkers handle with cranes and other equipment.
“It’s all about operating the lifting equipment that’s required to move the containers around. A lot of it is transferring containers from ship to shore, and vice versa,” Kent Gourdin, professor and director of the global logistics and transportation program at College of Charleston, told CBS MoneyWatch. “They handle containers on the terminals where ships dock, and keep track of what container needs to go where.”
These days, the job largely involves operating machinery, as well as tracking cargo and keeping records. For example, dockworkers coordinate with trucking companies that come to port to retrieve containers and transport them to their next stop. Dockworkers are also responsible for securing cargo on ships. Containers are stacked on top of one another, and it’s dockworkers’ job to make sure the containers are latched together.
Although operating heavy machinery is less physically arduous than toting boxes, nearly all dockworkers “are out in the weather to some degree and working in an environment where they are surrounded by heavy equipment,” Gourdin said.
“Whereas back in the day it was labor-intensive, today it’s mainly about operating machinery,” Henry Sims Jr., a fourth-generation longshoreman and president of the ILA local 3,000 in New Orleans, told CBS MoneyWatch. “Now, you have to be skilled. You can’t hire someone off the street, because they wouldn’t be able to do it without killing somebody, or themselves.”
U.S. behind in automation
The 10 largest U.S. ports all use some kind of automation technology to move cargo, according to a Government Accountability Office report in March. These include automated gates, which let trucks and containers move through cargo terminals with limited worker interaction; so-called port community systems, which are digital platforms that automatically streamline logistics and supply-chain data; and technologies used in “internet-of-things” systems, such as RFID, GPS and cameras, to operate equipment and track containers.
Semi-automated terminals employ people to operate machinery that moves containers from the cargo berth — the area where a ship is moored — to the yard. Equipment used to stack containers on top of one another is fully automated.
But only three domestic ports — Long Beach Container Terminal in Long Beach, Calif., and TraPac and APM Terminal Pier 400 in Los Angeles — are fully automated.
At fully automated ports, both horizontal and vertical container movement is handled by machines. Other technologies put to use at automated ports include AI-powered sensors, so-called digital twins — or identical, digital replicas of ports — and blockchain to automate the recording of transactions and track container locations.
Automated cargo-handling equipment eliminates the need for humans on site to operate a crane, for example, according to a GAO report on port automation.
“Ports in other parts of the world are much more advanced than in the U.S., partly because the unions have been blocking the adoption of technology and automation,” global supply chain management expert Chris Tang told CBS MoneyWatch.
“If you go to modern ports in China, you hardly see any humans,” he said. “They use automated cranes, and when a ship comes in a crane picks up the containers to stack them.”
Cargo ships are seen loading and unloading containers at the fully automated terminal of Qingdao Port in Qingdao, Shandong province, China, on August 7, 2024.
Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Despite the shift toward automation, Sims Jr. said human workers remain essential to the industry.
“We move things more efficiently and productively than automation does. The machines are slower, and when they break down, they can’t go back to work until we get someone out there to look at it and fix it.”
Gourdin, the professor, backed up that claim.
“Machines, I think, can do the job as well, but people are faster. I’ve been to automated terminals and it’s just slower,” he said, while acknowledging that more fully automated ports in the U.S. may be inevitable.
“An extremely difficult problem”
Given the close coordination that is required between ships, trucking companies and their customers, artificial intelligence and data analytics can play a big role in getting a container from point A to point B, logistics experts say.
“Dockworkers communicate with trucking companies to find cranes to use to retrieve their containers when they’re arriving,” Tang explained. “But sometimes a trucker will show up and they’ll need a container that’s at the bottom of the pile. This is a problem.”
That’s where artificial intelligence and data analytics come in. These technologies help dockworkers track when a given container will arrive and coordinate with trucking companies for pick-up, affecting how containers are stacked.
“It’s an extremely difficult problem to solve — to synchronize when the container and truck are coming in. This is where automation comes into play,” Tang said.
Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said automation is well suited to the port system given how routine the nature of the work is.
“Ship comes in, they have all these containers loaded up, you take off the container and move it somewhere. Then you put it on an intermodal train or truck,” he said. “It’s the same thing over and over again. That’s something that technology can do really well because there is little variation.”
Atkinson favors cutting the amount of human labor in U.S. ports by 50% over the next 10 years, while he notes that remaining workers who survive would see their wages rise and consumers would save on shipping costs. Of course, that’s just the kind of major workforce reduction the dockworkers’ union is intent on preventing.
“If you automate a port, that means you buy something form a furniture store online and it costs less,” he said. That leads to savings for middle-class Americans.”
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.
This premier event promises to once again bring together law enforcement professionals, industry experts, and subject matter experts to explore the transformative role and impact of IoT technology on criminal investigations and community safety.
LAS VEGAS, October 7, 2024 (Newswire.com)
– The National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) and the National Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College (NCJTC) are excited to announce their collaborative partnership for the National Internet of Things (IoT) and Emerging Technologies Investigative Conference, taking place from January 14-16, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This premier event promises to bring together law enforcement professionals, industry experts, and subject matter experts to explore the transformative role and impact of IoT technology on criminal investigations and community safety.
As the landscape of IoT devices continues to expand, their significance in modern investigations is becoming increasingly vital. This conference aims to equip law enforcement and investigative professionals with the essential tools and knowledge to effectively leverage IoT technology in their work. Attendees participating in the 2025 event can anticipate expanded sessions, hands-on workshops, and networking opportunities designed to empower attendees to stay at the forefront of IoT advancements in criminal justice.
Event highlights include:
Explore Emerging Technologies: Discover the latest advancements in IoT and related technologies that can enhance investigative efforts.
Investigative Techniques for Technology-Driven Cases: Learn innovative methods for analyzing data from connected devices to strengthen case-building strategies.
Navigating the IoT Landscape: Gain insights into the legal and technical challenges of working with IoT data and discover practical solutions for overcoming them.
“IoT technology is transforming the way law enforcement approaches investigations,” said Glen Gainer, President and CEO of NW3C. “This conference is a critical opportunity for professionals to learn, collaborate, and stay ahead of the curve as IoT devices continue to reshape the investigative landscape.”
“Our partnership leverages NW3C’s 40-year history of supporting law enforcement investigators’ technology-based investigations and our ongoing collaboration to provide cutting-edge training in emerging areas of need,” said Brad Russ the Executive Director for NCJTC. NW3C and NCJTC are excited to welcome hundreds of law enforcement professionals, industry experts, and technology enthusiasts to this groundbreaking conference, where they can explore the opportunities and challenges presented by the ever-expanding IoT landscape.
Join us in January 2025 to advance your understanding of IoT’s impact on law enforcement and to network with fellow professionals dedicated to enhancing community safety through technology.
For more information, view the current agenda, and registration details, please visit www.ncjtc.org/IoT.
LAS VEGAS, October 31, 2023 (Newswire.com)
– The National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) and National Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College (NCJTC) are pleased to announce their partnership in hosting the National Internet of Things (IoT) Investigative Conference, taking place from January 16-18, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This groundbreaking event will bring together law enforcement professionals, industry leaders, and experts to explore the growing impact of IoT technology on criminal investigations and community safety.
With the rapid growth of IoT technology, it is essential for law enforcement and investigative professionals to stay informed and well-equipped to utilize this valuable resource effectively. The National IoT Investigative Conference promises to be an essential gathering for professionals seeking to navigate the complex landscape of IoT in criminal investigations. Key event highlights include:
Cutting-Edge Technology Demos: Attendees will have the opportunity to explore the latest IoT devices and technologies, gaining a better understanding of their potential in investigations.
Expert Speaker Sessions: Renowned industry experts and law enforcement professionals will deliver engaging presentations on IoT investigative methods, case studies, and best practices.
Hands-On Workshops: Interactive workshops will provide attendees with practical skills and knowledge needed to collect and analyze IoT data in real-world scenarios.
Networking Opportunities: The conference will facilitate connections between attendees, fostering collaboration and information sharing among professionals in the field.
Legal and Ethical Considerations: Specialized sessions will address the legal and ethical aspects of using IoT data in investigations, ensuring that all practices are within the boundaries of the law.
“IoT technology is revolutionizing the way we investigate and solve crimes,” said Glen Gainer, President and CEO of NW3C. “Our partnership with NCJTC enables us to offer a unique platform for law enforcement professionals to learn, exchange ideas, and stay updated on the latest developments in IoT investigative techniques.”
“Our partnership leverages NW3C’s 40-year history of supporting law enforcement investigators’ technology-based investigations and our ongoing collaboration to provide cutting-edge training in emerging areas of need,” said Brad Russ the Executive Director for NCJTC. NW3C and NCJTC are excited to welcome hundreds of law enforcement professionals, industry experts, and technology enthusiasts to this groundbreaking conference, where they can explore the opportunities and challenges presented by the ever-expanding IoT landscape.
For more information about the National Internet of Things Investigative Conference, including registration details and the conference agenda, please visit ncjtc.org/IoT.
Chinese technology giant Huawei has had it with European Union officials calling it a “high-risk” supplier.
The firm, a leading manufacturer of telecoms equipment, filed a complaint with the European Ombudsman office last month after the bloc’s industry chief Thierry Breton described Huawei and its smaller Chinese rival ZTE as “high-risk suppliers” at a press conference on June 15.
Breton was presenting a report reviewing the EU’s policies on secure 5G, which allow member countries to restrict or prohibit “entities considered high-risk suppliers, notably because they are subject to highly intrusive, third countries laws on national intelligence and data security,” the commissioner said, naming both Huawei and ZTE in his statements.
Huawei told POLITICO in a statement Friday that the company “strongly opposes and disagrees with the comments made by the European Commission representatives publicly naming and shaming an individual company without legal basis while lacking any justification or due process,” confirming the firm is the one behind the complaint with the EU Ombudsman.
“We expect the European Commission to address our claims and rectify their comments for the sake of Huawei’s reputation,” the spokesperson added.
The European Ombudsman found “insufficient grounds to open an inquiry into the comments themselves” but it has asked the Commission to send Huawei a reply to its complaints by November 3, Michal Zuk, a communication officer for the EU watchdog, told POLITICO.
The Shenzhen-based company has been fighting restrictions on the use of its 5G kit for the past few years. It has fought and lost a court challenge in Sweden against the country’s telecoms regulator and more recently filed a lawsuit with a Lisbon court against a resolution by Portugal’s cybersecurity regulator.
At the core of Western concerns surrounding Huawei is whether the firm can be instrumentalized, pressured or infiltrated by the Chinese government to gain access to critical data in Western countries.
The Commission didn’t immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Supply chain management plays a pivotal role in the success of any enterprise. Entrepreneurs and business owners are constantly seeking innovative ways to optimize their supply chains, reduce operational costs and enhance overall efficiency.
This is where the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart technologies step in to revolutionize the field of supply chain management.
IoT refers to the interconnected network of physical devices, vehicles, buildings and other objects embedded with sensors, software and network connectivity that enables them to collect and exchange data. When integrated into supply chain operations, IoT can bring about a transformational shift in the way businesses manage their logistics and distribution processes.
1. Real-time tracking and visibility:
In the context of supply chain management, real-time tracking and visibility are game-changers. IoT devices, such as GPS sensors and RFID tags, provide continuous data streams that allow entrepreneurs to monitor their goods at every stage of the supply chain journey. This means they can pinpoint the exact location of products, monitor their condition and track their movement from manufacturer to distributor to retailer.
The benefits are twofold. First, this level of visibility significantly reduces the risk of theft and losses since any anomalies or deviations from the planned route can trigger immediate alerts. Second, it offers valuable insights into the overall efficiency of the supply chain. By analyzing data on delivery times, transportation routes and storage conditions, entrepreneurs can identify areas for improvement, optimize routes and ensure that goods reach their destination faster and in better condition.
2. Inventory management:
IoT sensors are capable of automating inventory management with unprecedented accuracy and efficiency. These sensors can monitor inventory levels in real time and send automatic alerts when stock is running low or when products are approaching their expiration date.
This proactive approach to inventory management has numerous advantages. It prevents stockouts, ensuring that businesses never run out of essential supplies, which can be especially critical for just-in-time manufacturing processes. It also helps in reducing overstock situations, which can tie up capital and storage space. Ultimately, this level of control not only optimizes storage space but also improves cash flow management by reducing excess inventory costs.
3. Predictive maintenance:
Within the IoT ecosystem, smart technologies can predict when machinery and equipment are likely to fail. IoT sensors on machines can continuously monitor their performance, collecting data on factors such as temperature, vibration and energy consumption. By analyzing this data, predictive maintenance algorithms can identify patterns that indicate when a machine is deviating from its normal operating conditions, suggesting a potential breakdown.
This predictive capability is a game-changer for supply chain operations. Instead of relying on scheduled maintenance, which can be costly and lead to unnecessary downtime, businesses can address maintenance needs proactively. This minimizes downtime, reduces repair costs and ensures smooth operations. In essence, it keeps the supply chain running like a well-oiled machine.
4. Reduced costs:
IoT-enabled supply chains are inherently more efficient. The real-time data provided by IoT devices allows businesses to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies quickly. For example, if goods are consistently delayed at a particular warehouse or if delivery routes are suboptimal, these issues can be promptly addressed.
By optimizing processes and streamlining operations, businesses can significantly reduce costs in various aspects of the supply chain, including transportation, warehousing and labor. For instance, they can minimize fuel consumption by optimizing delivery routes, reduce warehousing costs by better managing inventory levels and enhance labor productivity by automating routine tasks. This cost reduction not only improves profitability but also enables businesses to remain competitive in a rapidly changing market.
IoT generates an immense amount of data, but its true potential is unlocked through data analytics. Entrepreneurs can harness this data to gain valuable insights into consumer behavior, demand patterns and supply chain performance. By leveraging advanced analytics tools and machine learning algorithms, businesses can make data-driven decisions that enhance their competitiveness.
Smart technologies beyond IoT
In addition to IoT, several other smart technologies are making waves in supply chain management:
1. Blockchain:
Blockchain technology is revolutionizing supply chain management by offering secure and transparent tracking of products and transactions throughout the entire supply chain journey. Here’s how it works:
Secure and immutable records: Every transaction or movement of products is recorded in a secure and immutable blockchain ledger. This means that once data is entered, it cannot be altered or tampered with. This inherent security ensures the authenticity of records, reducing the risk of fraudulent or deceptive practices.
End-to-end transparency: Blockchain provides an unbroken, transparent chain of custody for products. Entrepreneurs can trace the origin of each product, monitor its movement from manufacturer to distributor to retailer and even verify its authenticity. This level of transparency not only reduces the risk of counterfeit goods but also enhances trust among consumers.
Smart contracts: Blockchain allows for the implementation of smart contracts, which are self-executing agreements with predefined rules. These contracts can automate various supply chain processes, such as payments, quality inspections and compliance checks. This automation reduces administrative overhead and ensures that contractual obligations are met promptly.
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI):
AI-driven algorithms are a powerful tool for optimizing supply chain processes. Here’s how AI can transform supply chain management:
Demand prediction: AI algorithms can analyze historical data, market trends and various external factors to predict demand accurately. This enables businesses to adjust their production and inventory levels accordingly, reducing the risk of overstocking or stockouts.
Process automation: AI can automate routine and repetitive tasks, such as data entry, order processing and inventory management. This not only reduces labor costs but also minimizes the potential for human errors, improving overall efficiency.
Enhanced decision-making: AI can analyze vast amounts of data in real time to make informed decisions. For instance, it can optimize delivery routes based on real-time traffic data or recommend the most cost-effective suppliers. This data-driven decision-making leads to more efficient supply chain operations.
Personalized customer service: AI-powered chatbots and customer service platforms can personalize recommendations and resolve customer issues more efficiently. This enhances the customer experience and fosters brand loyalty.
3. Robotic Process Automation (RPA):
Robotic Process Automation involves the use of robots and automation technologies to streamline various aspects of supply chain management. Here’s how RPA is making a significant impact:
Warehouse operations: Robots can automate tasks within warehouses, such as picking and packing products. They work with precision and consistency, reducing the potential for errors and increasing order accuracy. This not only speeds up order fulfillment but also reduces labor costs.
Repetitive Task Automation: RPA can handle repetitive and rule-based tasks, such as data entry, invoice processing and tracking shipments. By automating these tasks, businesses can free up human resources for more strategic activities.
Enhanced efficiency: RPA can operate around the clock, ensuring that supply chain operations continue without interruptions. This enhances overall efficiency and reduces lead times.
Cost reduction: By automating routine tasks, RPA reduces labor costs and the potential for errors that can lead to additional expenses. It also optimizes resource utilization, ensuring that operations are cost-effective.
The machines, heralded as “3D printers for the garden”, automatically plant seeds, water, detect and remove weeds, and measure soil properties.
Press Release –
Dec 30, 2022 04:00 EST
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif., December 30, 2022 (Newswire.com)
– California startup FarmBothas shipped a record number of automated farming robots in 2022 to homeowners looking for help in the garden as well as schools and universities bolstering their precision agriculture programs.
2022 marked the release of FarmBot’s newest models with the following key features:
An upgraded camera for high definition plant photography and weed detection
An improved vacuum pump for precision seed injection
More robust electronics including the latest Raspberry Pi computers
The FarmBot web app allows users to drag-and-drop their garden design like the popular video game Farmville. Then the FarmBot does the rest: it plants seeds, waters each plant according to its type, age, and the local weather, takes photos to find and remove weeds, and notifies users when the tomatoes are ripe.
FarmBots can grow many common garden veggies at the same time such as Lettuces, Onions, Radishes, Beets, Chard, Garlic, Bok Choy, Arugula, Carrots, Broccoli, and much more. By placing vining and other indeterminate crops near the ends of the bed and training them outwards, the plants can utilize double or triple the area while still being maintained by the FarmBot.
Both FarmBot Express and Genesis can grow all of the veggies needed by one person, continuously, for less cost after 2 years than shopping at the average US grocery store, while the XL bots can serve a family of four with a return on investment period as short as 1 year.
All hardware is made of stainless steel, aluminum, and weatherproof plastics, allowing FarmBot to be installed outdoors or on rooftops in all weather conditions as well as in greenhouses or indoors. FarmBot is also 100% open-source, meaning all of the CAD models, electronic schematics, software, and data are freely available online for everyone from tinkerers to teachers to learn more and customize their machine.
All models are in stock and available for immediate worldwide shipping from FarmBot’s California warehouse, with free shipping offered to US customers. With Spring fast approaching, now is the best time to order a kit at farm.bot.
ABOUT FARMBOT:
FarmBot aims to bring open-source precision ag tools to every backyard and classroom. Our top of the line model, FarmBot Genesis XL, can continuously grow a family of four all of their daily vegetable needs and offers the most features and customizability. Our most affordable model, FarmBot Express, comes 95% pre-assembled in the box and can be installed in under an hour. Join us in taking back control of the food system! See media.farm.bot for our full press kit.
Europe’s largest economy Germany hasn’t kicked its habit of using Chinese kit for its 5G telecoms networks yet.
A new study analyzing Huawei’s market share in Europe estimates that Germany relies on Chinese technology for 59 percent of its 5G networks. Other key markets including Italy and the Netherlands are also among eight countries where over half of 5G networks run on Chinese equipment.
The study, by Copenhagen-based telecoms consultancy Strand Consult, offers a rare glimpse of how some telecoms operators have relied on Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE in the early stage of Europe’s 5G rollout. The figures also underline one of Western officials’ fears: that Europe’s pushback against Chinese technology for communications networks was slow to wean operators off Huawei.
“It’s easier to preach than to practice,” said John Strand, founder of the consultancy, of EU governments’ hesitance to throw up clear barriers to using Chinese telecoms equipment.
“It is more dangerous to be dependent on Chinese telecoms networks than to be dependent on Russian gas. Digital infrastructure is the fundament of society,” Strand said.
The study matches a warning by the European Commission’s digital chief Margrethe Vestager, who said last month that “a number of countries have passed legislation but they have not put it into effect … Making it work is even better.”
“It is not only Germany, but it is also Germany,” Vestager said in November.
Germany’s ministries of digital affairs, interior and economic affairs didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Huawei also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Clinging to Huawei kit
European governments in the past two years have imposed security policies on the telecoms industry to cut down on Chinese kit.
In some countries, this has led to a full stop on using Huawei and its smaller Chinese rival ZTE. Strand’s study estimates that nine EU countries, as well as Norway and the Faroe Islands, have no Chinese equipment in new 5G networks at all. France (17 percent) and Belgium (30 percent) have a much lower presence of Chinese kit in 5G than was the case in their 4G and 3G networks.
But the EU regime on using Chinese technology in 5G is a patchwork. In other EU countries those policies either allow for operators to still rely on Huawei for parts of their networks or require the government to actively step in to stop deals.
The Berlin government in the past two years was criticized for being slow in setting up the legal framework that now allows it to intervene on contracts between operators and vendors if ministers choose to do so. Olaf Scholz’s government has taken a more critical stance on Chinese technology and just last month blocked Chinese investors from buying a German chip plant over potential security threats.
But Germany’s largest operator Deutsche Telekom has also maintained a strategic partnership with Huawei for years and it and others have worked with Huawei on the early stages of rolling out 5G, Strand’s report suggests.
In Italy, the government has “golden powers” to stop contracts with Huawei. The former government led by Mario Draghi, seen as close to the U.S., intervened on a couple of deals but it is still unclear how the current government led by far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will position itself.
In other, smaller countries like the Netherlands, operators were quick to launch 5G networks and some did so using Huawei, especially in “radio access network” (RAN) parts — effectively preempting EU and national decisions to cut down on Chinese kit.
Strand’s data, gathered from European industry players in the past months, show Huawei was quick to provide operators with 5G gear in the first stages of Europe’s rollout.
But another boutique telecoms consultancy, Dell’Oro, compiled data recently that showed the firm in the past year started running into serious obstacles in selling its kit.
As of early last year — right as European officials were changing direction on 5G security — Sweden’s Ericsson overtook Huawei in market share of new European sales of radio access network (RAN) equipment for 3G, 4G and 5G equipment, according to updated figures Dell’Oro compiled this summer, shared with POLITICO by an industry official. Radio access networks make up the largest chunk of network investment and include base stations and antennas.
For 5G RAN specifically, Huawei lost its initial position as a market leader at the start of the rollout; it now provides 22 percent of sales, with Ericsson at 42 percent and Nokia at 32 percent in Europe, Dell’Oro estimated.
A POLITICO investigation last month revealed how the Chinese tech giant was consolidating its operations in Europe and scaling down its lobbying and branding operations across a series of important markets, including France, the United Kingdom and its European representation in Brussels.
Pressed by the United States and increasingly shunned on a continent it once considered its most strategic overseas market, Huawei is pivoting back toward the Chinese market, focusing its remaining European attention on just a few countries, among them Germany.
China hawks, however, fear that Huawei could continue to supply 5G equipment because of the loopholes and political considerations of national governments.
The new figures could serve as “an eye opener for a lot of governments and regulators in Europe,” Strand said.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Just a few years ago, the Internet of Things (IoT) was the talk of the town. The promise of an interconnected web of objects equipped with sensors of all stripes that would communicate with each other in a way hitherto only envisioned in science fiction was seen as imminent.
Startups sprung up left, right, and center, and segments flooded the airwaves about new smart cities, like Saudi Arabia’s sci-fi-inspired project, Neom. That reality has still not panned out, and it still seems distant. Some have written off IoT and almost thrown it in the dustbin of history along with other defunct technologies that didn’t deliver on their promises.
One of the challenges IoT faces is that it depends on a very high level of high tech to be deployed in many places. A smart system that recognizes a light bulb needs fixing will require some sensor that communicates with each light bulb.
You can’t just plug devices into a “‘smart solution” and suddenly expect a technological nirvana to unfurl. In an incredibly technologically heterogeneous world covered with both high and low tech, you need integrative technological solutions, which are still rather limited.
The world can, however, integrate existing solutions much better. Positioning systems, cybersecurity systems, and physical security systems already exist. Most necessities are on the grid, and everyone is online. We can put together the tremendous technological tools already at our disposal by utilizing integrated technologies and get a long way toward IoT’s promised land.
Some creative ways exist to bridge the need to equip the world with sensors. Elon Musk realized this when he argued that self-driving cars do not need to be equipped with radar. Instead, they can rely on sight just like humans and still possess superhuman driving skills. We, humans, use sight to identify objects, events and threats at a distance from us. There is no reason why machines could not utilize vision as adeptly.
Computer vision extends far beyond the novel wonders of self-driving cars, possibly even into every little thing about our lives. Data-annotation service provider Keymakr, for example, recently joined forces with SeeChange to leverage AI to reduce the number of times shoppers and employees slip, trip, or fall in brick-and-mortar stores. The AI identifies and notifies employees of liquid spills in fall-risk areas.
Computer vision in this scenario prevents stores from having to equip the floor with additional sensors to detect if it’s slippery, instead using cameras already in place. Imagine the boundless other applications for such technology, ranging from predictive maintenance to reshaped hospitality with automated services or a new level of proactive and personalized remote healthcare. The potential applications are bound only by our imagination.
We will have to address the issue of security, considering by now, we have the experience to know that almost every device is hackable. Connecting all the world’s devices poses brand-new security risks. We all read about exposed personal data hourly and experience too many technological failures daily. Are we ready to trust a vast network of integrated electronic devices to run the world smoothly and safely?
After all, IoT devices run on software susceptible to many vulnerabilities that can be exploited. As more and more devices become connected to the internet, we will face an increased risk of hackers accessing data gold mines from massive networks that were previously much more challenging to target. They’ll do so by attacking less secure IoT devices connected to that network.
Focussing on individual vulnerabilities, however, won’t yield the most effective security outcomes. Instead, it results in a much more costly, computerized version of whack-a-mole where the security professionals run after vulnerabilities to patch them up one by one.
By taking a holistic approach to the security of IoT devices, cybersecurity company Sternum IoT builds itself into the system’s firmware to ensure the code can’t be tweaked. Simply put, even if a malicious attacker could hack into the device, they would be barred from actually performing any of the functions that inflict harm.
We need more proactive takes on IoT security to ensure companies can come out ahead instead of playing catch-up with hackers and constant costly vulnerability patching, as security is usually performed today.
IoTs’ promise to truly connect us and technology in a new way is similar to what’s happening with self-driving cars. We heard all about it constantly for a period, and one could be forgiven for thinking we’d all be driven around by machines by 2023.
While the technology is still not ubiquitous, it is advancing quite nicely. Think how much of the driving experience is already automated compared to just a few years ago. Cruise control, automated lane adjustments, and collision aversion technologies are only a few of the dozens of automated features.
With access to low-cost, low-power sensors, new levels of connectivity, cloud computing platforms, machine learning and analytics, IoT is already combining state-of-the-art technology into something new and exciting. It is certain that IoT will grow and that technologists will do well by staying ahead of the curve. But it remains to be seen how fast and for how long that growth will continue. It might just be that IoT is still like the sleeping giant which will move the world when it wakes up.
The Chinese telecoms giant is pushing out its pedigreed Western lobbyists, retrenching its European operations and putting its ambitions for global leadership on ice.
The reasons for doing this have little to do with the company’s commercial potential — Huawei is still able to offer cutting-edge technology at lower costs than its competitors — and everything to do with politics, according to interviews with more than 20 current and former staff and strategic advisers to the company.
Pressed by the United States and increasingly shunned on a Continent it once considered its most strategic overseas market, Huawei is pivoting back toward the Chinese market, focusing its remaining European attention on the few countries — Germany and Spain, but also Hungary — still willing to play host to a company widely viewed in the West as a security risk.
“It’s no longer a company floating on globalization,” said one Huawei official. “It’s a company saving its ass on the domestic market.” Like most of the other Huawei employees interviewed for this article, the official spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely describe the company’s travails.
Huawei’s predicament was summed up by the company’s founder Ren Zhengfei in a speech to executives at the company’s Shenzhen headquarters in July. He laid out the trifecta of challenges the company has faced over the last three years: hostility from Washington; disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic; and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which upended global supply chains and heightened European concerns about over-dependence on countries like China.
“The environment we faced in 2019 was different from the one we face today,” Ren said in his speech, which wasn’t made public but was seen by POLITICO. “Don’t assume that we will have a brighter future.”
“We previously had an ideal for globalization striving to serve all humanity,” he added. “What is our ideal today? Survival!”
‘The moment globalist Huawei died’
As the company goes into hibernation in the West, it’s sidelining or pushing out the senior Western managers it hired just a few years ago to counter the U.S. assault on its business.
“Westerners were listened to,” one Huawei official working in Europe said. “This is no longer the case … No one is listening.”
Huawei’s Brussels office — once a key hub for the company to lobby against European restrictions on its kit — has been folded fully into European management, now headquartered in Düsseldorf.
The office this summer lost its head of communications, Phil Herd, a former BBC journalist who joined the company in October 2019 at the start of its pushback against political pressure in Europe. The office has also recently lost at least three other key staff members handling lobbying and policy. (Tony) Jin Yong, the chief representative to the Brussels institutions, is now in charge of government affairs across Western Europe and spends most of his time in the Düsseldorf office.
Employees sits in a meeting room inside Huawei Technologies Co. Cyber Security Transparency Centre in Brussels | Yuriko Nakao/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In London, Huawei’s U.K. Director of Communications Paul Harrison left his role in October, with other officials leaving around the same time. Harrison joined Huawei from a senior news editing job at U.K. broadcaster Sky News in 2019.
In Paris, the company’s Marketing and Communications Director Stéphane Curtelin left his role in September, the local magazine Challenges reported. Before then, the Paris office lost its Head of Government and Security Affairs Vincent de Crayencour, a veteran French cybersecurity official with extensive government experience who joined Huawei in 2020. The company’s Chief Representative of the Paris Office Linda Han also left her role before the summer.
In Warsaw, the company’s local PR manager Szymon Solnica departed Huawei in September. “The crises I’ve dealt with on a daily basis in recent years were colossal ones,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing his departure.
Huawei officials speaking in authorized interviews dismissed the departures as regular turnover. “There is a fluctuation always in companies, not only in Huawei … Some people are leaving and some other people are coming,” a spokesperson for Huawei Europe said in an authorized interview last week.
But others in the company privately acknowledged the departures reflect a radical shift that began in September 2021.
“The moment Meng got off the plane was the moment the globalist Huawei died,” one official said.
As the daughter of the founder — and the presumptive heir to the company’s leadership — Meng had played a key role in the legal and public relations fight between Huawei and Washington. Since returning from Canada, she reached Huawei’s top ranks as deputy chairwoman at the company’s headquarters and triggered a corporate reshuffle at the top.
(Catherine) Chen Lifang, who led the firm’s global communications department during the height of American pressure, was moved off the board of directors and into a role on the supervisory board.
The global comms department is now represented on Huawei’s board by Peng Bo, known in Europe as Vincent Peng, the former president of Huawei’s Western Europe region. Peng’s ascendency is part of the company’s efforts to move its European operations closer to Shenzhen.
The agenda to streamline public affairs in Europe is led by Guo Aibing — a former journalist for Bloomberg News in Hong Kong. Guo was parachuted into Europe and is executing cuts and consolidation of the firm’s lobbying and communication across the Continent.
The company is also restructuring its activities in Europe. The company’s plans — previously unannounced — are to consolidate the entire Continent into just one area of operations, headquartered in Düsseldorf.
Hampers and gifts at the new Huawei store in Barcelona | Paco Freire/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Huawei currently divides the Continent into two markets: Western Europe, run from Düsseldorf; and Eastern Europe and the Nordics, with a top executive based in Warsaw.
The restructuring “will help us to bring more synergies within the whole European business operation; will bring more value more directly to our customers here in Europe,” said the Huawei Europe spokesperson.
Broadly, the company’s staffing levels, currently around 12,000 people, will remain “stable,” the spokesperson said.
The company is also retrenching elsewhere, according to Ren. “We will give up markets in some countries,” the firm’s founder said in his speech this summer. “For example, we will give up markets in the Five Eyes countries and India.”
The “Five Eyes” refers to an intelligence-sharing arrangement between the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. All five countries have banned or are in the process of banning Huawei and other Chinese companies from their critical infrastructure because of security concerns.
Instead, Huawei is concentrating on its domestic market, which accounts for a large proportion of global 5G and where Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia are struggling to maintain market share.
Trump effect
Huawei’s strategic retreat is remarkable for a company that until recently poured millions of euros into lobbyists and PR campaigns in an effort to expand and maintain its European foothold.
Throughout most of the 2010s, Huawei was considered by many in Europe to be a friendly face among the tech firms cuddling up to power. Peculiar in its approaches, yes, but cordial and — to many — beneficial to the Continent’s interests because it increased competition and cut the price tag on the next generation of telecoms networks.
The company became known for its generous gift bags, often including a Huawei phone, and lavish parties in glamorous venues featuring fancy buffets and dance performances — like its reception celebrating the Chinese new year at the Concert Noble in Brussels.
Glitzy bashes later became part of a supercharged response to political headwinds from Washington over concerns that the Chinese-built telecoms infrastructure poses a serious security and spying risk.
Those headwinds started blowing under U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration but reached hurricane force following Donald Trump’s election. By 2019, the company was under American sanctions, with Ren’s daughter Meng in Canada awaiting the result of a U.S. extradition request.
Keith Krach, a former under-secretary of state in the Trump administration, recalled how Washington was “hitting the panic button.”
He recalled asking European ministers about their relationship with China. “And they’d say, ‘Well, they’re an important trading partner’ and all that. And then they looked at both sides of the room, there’s nobody in the room, and whispered to me: ‘But we don’t trust them.’”
To navigate the geopolitical storm, the firm offered six-figure salaries to top operators across the Western world. It assembled a high-caliber team of former Western journalists and politicians with direct lines to places of power like the Elysée and Westminster, POLITICO learned from several who received such offers.
Initially, the gambit seemed to work.
Huawei’s message — that the U.S. itself posed spying risks and that Washington’s aggression was driven by economic interests — gained traction, particularly in places like Germany, where Trump proved a useful foil.
“The case that Trump made was almost more counterproductive,” said Thorsten Benner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin. Huawei also received support from big telco operators, who saw value in the cheap equipment combined with responsive customer service.
By the beginning of 2020, Huawei seemed to have weathered U.S. calls for all-out bans. On January 28, then-U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave the company the green light to build part of the country’s 5G infrastructure. Just a day later, the European Union presented a plan to shift away from over-reliance on Chinese vendors but left the door open for Huawei to lobby national governments to keep market access for its technology.
Keith Krach said the U.S. was hitting the panic button | Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit
Then came the pandemic. With the coronavirus originating from Wuhan killing thousands, Trump ramped up his anti-China broadside in May 2020 with fresh sanctions against Huawei that basically cut off their supply of semiconductors.
By July, the U.K.’s Johnson completely reversed course and announced all Huawei equipment would have to be stripped from British 5G networks, even as the government estimated the move would delay the rollout of the technology and add half a billion pounds in costs.
Throughout 2020 and 2021, European governments including France, Sweden, Romania, the Baltic countries, Belgium and Denmark either banned Huawei equipment in key parts of the country’s 5G network or required its operators to wean themselves off its kit in the medium term.
Huawei’s smartphone business — once on its way to challenging Apple and Samsung in Europe — meanwhile was crushed by U.S. sanctions that cut its devices off from Android, the Google-owned operating system.
Putin changes the calculus
These setbacks were painful, but they weren’t yet considered fatal. Trump’s election loss and the ebbing of the pandemic in Europe seemed to offer an opportunity for a counteroffensive.
At the beginning of 2021, Huawei’s Brussels lobbyists were still optimistic that Europe’s hunger for cheap, speedy 5G installation would win out over security concerns. They even had meetings lined up in the European Parliament to make their case.
Those meetings got canceled on February 24, the day Putin launched his all-out invasion of Ukraine. For many in Europe, the risk-benefit calculation regarding Huawei had changed overnight.
“The biggest change I’ve seen came from the realization that we’re dependent on Russian gas — especially in Germany,” said John Strand, a telecoms analyst who has tracked Huawei’s market impact in Europe for the past years. “It begs the question: What’s worse, being dependent on Russian gas or on Chinese telecoms infrastructure?”
Under President Joe Biden, pressure on Huawei only increased, and Washington’s warnings now come from a more sympathetic messenger. In October, the European Commission issued a fresh warning against using Huawei technology to underpin 5G networks, and the U.K. government reaffirmed its requirement to strip Huawei equipment from British telecoms infrastructure.
The company’s travails have knocked the legs from underneath its lobbying efforts — and eaten into its market share.
Before the pandemic, the company regularly hosted European politicians, journalists and business leaders at its Shenzhen headquarters, a massive campus with buildings in different European architectural styles showcasing its global ambitions.
China’s zero-COVID policy made that impossible.
The company for years was the biggest spender at the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the world’s largest telecoms industry event. This year, the company’s on-the-ground presence was a pale imitation of previous showings, which it used to launch new products with razzle-dazzle and astronomical marketing budgets.
But perhaps no high-flying event illustrates the extent of the turnaround than the World Economic Forum in Davos, which once counted Huawei among its main sponsors. On January 21, 2020, just a week before Johnson sided with Huawei over Trump, Ren was onstage at the alpine resort, discussing the future of AI with “Sapiens” author Yuval Noah Harari.
The next year, the global gathering of political power players and financial titans in Davos was, thanks to the pandemic, canceled. When it reconvened in the summer of 2022, Huawei top chiefs missed the gabfest. Under Beijing’s zero-COVID policy, they couldn’t leave China.
Geopolitics hits the balance sheets
The firm still has a solid share in some big national markets, among them Germany and Spain, industry analysts say.
A 2020 study by Strand Consult — still the most comprehensive public overview of Huawei’s footprint in Europe — showed just how deeply the Chinese firm was ingrained in European markets: In 15 out of 31 countries Strand studied, more than half of all 4G radio access network equipment (RAN) came from Chinese vendors.
But in many of these markets, authorities have imposed measures forcing operators to phase out or at least significantly limit the use of “high-risk vendors” — commonly understood to be state-affiliated Huawei and the Chinese military-linked telecom ZTE — in coming years.
These are beginning to bite.
In the early race to implement 5G, Huawei outpaced its rivals in Europe. However, as of early last year — right as European officials were changing direction on 5G security — Sweden’s Ericsson overtook Huawei in market share of new European sales of radio access networks, according to proprietary figures compiled by boutique telecoms research firm Dell’Oro, shared with POLITICO by an industry official. Radio access networks make up the largest chunk of network investment and include base stations and antennas.
The latest update, from the second quarter of 2022, showed Ericsson at 41 percent, Huawei at 28 percent and Finnish Nokia at 27 percent. This includes new sales of base stations and antennas across 3G, 4G and 5G — some of which is part of running contracts with operators.
For 5G RAN specifically, the shift is even clearer: Huawei lost its initial position as market leader at the start of the rollout; it now provides 22 percent of sales, with Ericsson at 42 percent and Nokia at 32 percent in Europe, Dell’Oro estimated.
Industry analysts say Huawei’s move to consolidate and scrap key public affairs roles could hurt the company in countries where it still has skin in the game: Most importantly, Germany, Italy and Spain. In these large European markets, governments have been slow to impose measures on “high-risk vendors” — and particularly slow and soft in enforcing them.
Europe’s largest operators, like Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone, also have running contracts with Huawei, meaning the Chinese firm is at least still providing maintenance and keeping networks running — and potentially still supporting parts of the 5G rollout.
But in Germany, at least, Olaf Scholz’s new government has taken a more critical stance on Chinese technology. This month, Economy Minister Robert Habeck — who has taken a hawkish approach to China — formally blocked Chinese investors from buying a German chip plant over potential security threats.
Budapest nights
Huawei, of course, hasn’t completely given up on Europe.
Those still giving the company face time in Brussels this summer were presented with a weighty gift bag.
In addition to glossy hardcovers from the company’s PR operation — with titles like “Choose a Smarter Future: A contribution to Europe’s next digital policy” and “Ten Years of Connecting Europe” — the bag contained a memoir by Frédéric Pierucci. A former executive with the French infrastructure manufacturer Alstom, Pierucci was arrested by the FBI on bribery charges in 2013 — just as the American conglomerate General Electric was negotiating to take over Alstom’s nuclear operations.
Titled “The American Trap,” the book argues that its author was a hostage in Washington’s secret economic war on its allies.
“One after the other, some of the world’s largest companies are being actively destabilized to the benefit of the U.S., in acts of economic sabotage that seem to be the beginning of what’s to come…” reads the publisher’s summary.
It’s a narrative with deep appeal inside the company, and one that creates a natural rapport with other governments that see themselves as standing up to liberal superpowers. As Huawei searches for friends on the Continent, Hungary — increasingly in opposition to the rest of the EU on how to engage with China and Russia — remains a vocal ally, and the company is leaning into that relationship.
This year, in September, Huawei’s CEE & Nordic region unit held its annual Innovation Day event in Hungary, home to the company’s largest European logistics center.
On the banks of the Danube, tech entrepreneurs schmoozed in English and Hungarian, with some Chinese and German mixed in, over made-to-order coffee and plentiful canapés at Budapest’s cupola-topped Castle Garden Bazaar.
Inside the conference hall, bilingual hosts teed up mini-documentaries about protecting local salmon breeds in Norway and preventing floods in Hungary. Small business execs highlighted drones that monitor crops in Austria and potential forest fires in Greece, all on Huawei 5G networks.
With simultaneous translation available in Hungarian, Huawei featured research it commissioned from the Economist Intelligence Unit reiterating Europe’s laggard status on 5G use and implementation. It was an implicit reminder that dismantling Huawei’s infrastructure will have real consequences.
But the company also highlighted what it hopes will be a bigger part of its portfolio: products less likely to inspire security concerns, like inverters for solar panels.
Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó said Hungary will stand firm against international pressure | Laszlo Balogh/Getty images
“Huawei is committed to the vision of a green Europe,” said Jeff Wang, the company’s current head of public affairs and comms, in a video address to the Budapest crowd, where he noted the 10 years he spent working on the Continent.
For weeks leading up to the event, Huawei officials were pushing to get Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to speak. While that didn’t pan out, Orbán sent one of his top lieutenants — Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó — to deliver a message.
“We are not going to discriminate [against] any investing company because of their country of origin,” Szijjártó said. Budapest will stand firm against “international pressure” he added, to block “the presence of Huawei here in Hungary.”
Radoslaw Kedzia, Huawei’s vice president for the CEE & Nordic region (and the first non-Chinese to achieve CEO status inside the company, in the Czech Republic in 2015), said there was no political calculation behind the double-down in Hungary.
“Let’s not demonize us, OK? We are like any other company,” Kedzia said.
If a business assessment offers the “prospect of the next 10-20 years of stable operation, then you think it is good to concentrate some of your resources in that particular country,” he added.
Likewise, the European spokesperson insisted, Huawei communicates with every country in the “same way, on the same level.” The company focuses on technology and does “not engage,” he said, in “political games.”
One thing is certain: When it comes to the great European game, Huawei has lost — and sent all its political players home.
Peter O’Brien, Elisa Braun, Stuart Lau and Matt Honeycombe-Foster contributed reporting.
Has the internet of things — the vast, interconnected, computer-centered ecosystem of today — reached a point where it is so complex, so multilayered, has so many architects, and has so many national interests embedded in it that it has become a threat to itself?
Will the electric grid, the financial system or the air traffic control apparatus implode not by the hand of a malicious hacker but because the system — which is now systems of systems — has become the most subtle threat it faces?
Worse, as the speed of telephony increases with 5G, will that speed up the system implosion with devastating consequences?
Will this technological meltdown be triggered from within by a long-forgotten piece of code, a failed sensor or inferior products in vital, load-bearing points in this system?
This kind of disaster from complexity is known as “emergent behavior.” Remember that concept. Likely, you will hear a lot about it going forward.
Emergent behavior is what happens when various objects or substances come together and trigger a reaction which can’t be predicted, nor can the trigger be predetermined.
Robert Gardner, founder and principal at New World Technology Systems and a National Security Agency consultant, tells me that the computer ecosystem is highly subject to emergent behavior in the so-called complex, adaptive system of systems which is today’s cyberworld. It is a world which has been built over time with new layers of complexity added willy-nilly as computing, and what has been asked of it, has become a huge, impregnable structure, beyond the reach of its present-day architects and minders, including cybersecurity aficionados.
In At The Creation
Gardner, to my mind, is worth listening to because he was, if you will, in at the beginning. At least, he was on hand and worked on the computer evolution, starting in the 1970s when he helped build the first supercomputers and has consulted with various national laboratories, including Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos. He has also played a key role in the development of today’s super-sophisticated financial computing infrastructure, known as “fintech.”
Gardner says of emergent behaviors in complex systems, “They can’t be predicted by examining individual components of a system as they are produced by the system as a whole — facilitating a perfect storm that conspires to produce catastrophe.”
Complexity is the new adversary, he says of these huge, virtual systems of systems.
Gardner adds, “The complexity adversary does not require outside assistance; it can be summoned by minor user, environmental or equipment failures, or timing instabilities in the ordinary operation of a system.
“Current threat detection software does not seek or detect these system conditions, leaving them highly vulnerable.”
Gardner cites two examples where the system failed itself. The first example is when a tree branch which fell on a power line in Ohio set in motion a blackout across the Michigan, New York, and Canada. The system became the problem: It went berserk, and 50 million people lost power.
The second example is how something called “counterparty risk” sped the demise of Lehman Brothers, the Wall Street colossus. That was when a single default embedded in the system initiated the implosion of the whole structure.
No Nefarious Actors
Of these, Gardner says, “There were no nefarious actors to defend against; the complex, heterogeneous nature of the systems themselves led to emergent behaviors.”
Going forward, the best practices in cyber hygiene won’t defend against catastrophe. The entwined systems are their own enemy. Utilities take note.
And the danger may get worse, according to Gardner.
The villain is 5G: the super-fast phone and data system now being deployed across the country. It will come in what are called “slices,” but for that you can read stages.
· Slice one is what is being built out now: It is faster than today’s 4G, which is what phones and data use currently. It features mobile broadband.
· Slice two, called “machine to machine,” is faster yet.
· Slice three will move vast quantities of data at astounding speeds which, if the data is damaging to the system and has occurred at an unidentifiable location, represents a threat to a whole tranche of human activity.
Self-destroying machines will be unstoppable when they have 5G slice three to speed bad information throughout their system and connected systems. Tech Armageddon.
With more and more devices in our homes — phones, tablets, TVs, computers, game consoles, smart appliances and more — demanding Wi-Fi bandwidth, a reliable, speedy network is more important than ever. And if your home has a challenging layout, or you live in an older building with impenetrable walls, a single router might not cut it, leaving you with poor connectivity or dropouts. The answer is a mesh system, which in place of a single router uses multiple miniature units you can place throughout your home to effectively eliminate dead zones and improve wireless internet speeds.
After months of testing mesh routers to find the best of the best, we found one that rises to the top.
Best mesh Wi-Fi router
Eero continues to master making Wi-Fi easier and better for the masses with a streamlined setup, wide-ranging coverage, high speeds and affordability combined with easy-to-manage parental controls, ad blocking, and network security.
EERO
The Eero 6+ mesh Wi-Fi system is our new top pick for the best mesh Wi-Fi system, replacing the very similar Eero 6. The two systems are similar, with the 6+ gaining critical features such as more bandwidth, which improved the overall experience in our testing. On top of new capabilities, the Eero 6+ is currently priced lower than the Eero 6 (which remains on the market for now), at $194 for a three-pack, compared to $199 for an Eero 6 router and two extenders.
As was the case with the earlier version, initial setup of the Eero 6+ is streamlined, with the iPhone or Android app making the process easy enough for even the non-tech savvy to upgrade from a traditional Wi-Fi router to a mesh system with multiple access points.
You’ll need access to your internet service provider’s modem in order to connect one of the Eero access points directly to it. Unlike the Eero 6 which had a dedicated base station meant to serve as the router access point, the 6+ units are interchangeable and you can use any of them as your main access point.
The app will walk you through giving your wireless network a name, adding any additional Eero access points, and starting your 30-day free trial of Eero Plus, the company’s subscription service that adds additional features to the Eero offering, such as ad blocking, advanced security, content filtering (including parental controls) and access to the password managing app 1Password, VPN service Encrypt.me, antivirus software Malwarebytes, and a DDNS service as a means to access your home network from anywhere.
Formerly Eero Secure+, an Eero Plus subscription costs $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year after your trial expires. There’s no longer a basic tier without apps as there was in earlier versions, and there have been some understandable complaints about this from users. Still, for $100 a year, you’re gaining access to plenty of handy features on your home Wi-Fi network, in addition to apps that collectively cost more than the Eero Plus subscription. For comparison, TP-Link’s Deco HomeCare Pro subscription is bit better deal at $55 a year for similar features, without any third-party app access. To get the same level of functionality from Netgear, you need two different subscriptions (parental controls and security features) for its Orbi systems, totaling $170 a year. But all things considered, $99.99 a year for Eero Plus isn’t the worst deal in the mesh networking landscape.
With an active subscription, you’ll have the ability to block certain websites, apps or services for specific user profiles. For instance, you can create a profile for your kids’ devices and set time limits, and schedules for bedtime or dinner to pause internet access, and track data usage.
Also part of Eero Plus is the option to block ads as you browse the internet. The ad-blocking feature isn’t quite as good as running a homemade PiHole server, but it does a good job at blocking a lot of ads, in turn speeding up website load times and preventing tracking.
As for security features, which are also part of the subscription, you can turn on Advanced Security to allow Eero to prevent anyone on your network from accessing harmful sites that may contain viruses or be phishing attempts.
The software experience is a big part of any mesh Wi-Fi system’s story, but not the entire story. For the Eero 6+, you’re getting a kit with powerful hardware that’s sure to provide fast internet access to your home and the devices inside it for years to come. The Eero 6 had a top speed of 500Mbps. The Eero 6+ doubles that to 1Gbps. Of course, your internet service provider will need to provide that type of speed to your home in order for you to see those speeds in real-world use.
Over the course of a few weeks, we tested a three-pack of the Eero 6+, one unit in the basement of a ranch-style home. A second unit was placed upstairs on the opposite end of the house, with the third unit in a detached garage.
During testing, we consistently saw speeds around 700 Mbps on our smartphones using the Speedtest.net app. The speed results would drop the further away we got from an access point, but that’s to be expected.
Often times there would be two to three gaming PCs connected and actively playing games — think Fortnite, Roblox, and Call of Duty — while Netflix or Hulu were streaming 4K content on a TV.
Outside of having to adjust a Wi-Fi antenna that had been moved on a gaming PC, there weren’t any instances of lagging while gaming or buffering while streaming content, even when everyone was connected and active, including countless smart home connected devices such as Ring cameras, smart locks, a video doorbell, light switches and random light bulbs.
Alternatively, you can use the Ethernet ports to connect a gadget that’s near the access point to boost its Wi-Fi connectivity. So, if you have an older PC that lacks Wi-Fi 6 capabilities, you can connect the PC to the Ethernet port on the back of the Eero 6+ and it’s now getting faster internet without having to upgrade any components on the PC. `
You can get the Eero 6+ in three different configurations. A single pack is $139, a two-pack is $155 (normally $239) and a three-pack is $194, marked down from its typical price of $299.
The core features remain the same, regardless if you have a single access point or three. You get dual-band 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6, which translates to multiple radios inside the access points to carry your data transitions back and forth at higher speeds. On the back of each Eero 6+ unit, you’ll find two Ethernet ports, which allow you to connect a secondary unit to Ethernet (if your house is wired for it) as a hardwired system, which can help boost performance.
The Eero 6+ is very much a set-it-and-forget-it system. Once turned on and devices started connecting to them, there wasn’t a whole lot of management or worry on our part. We could get as granular as we wanted within the Eero app about usage, setting up profiles and what to block, or we could just let the network run and forget about having to manage a thing.
We crafted our testing pool based on current Wi-Fi standards, top-rated mesh routers and our own expertise with products on the market. We then designed testing categories that would make for a fair comparison across all routers.
Once each router arrived, we began our analysis by examining everything from the packaging and labeling of the hardware to the included instructions. We also paid close attention to what interface we had to use for setup, determining if it was a web page to visit, a desktop app or a purely mobile experience. When it came to placing the router, we noted if the onboarding process helped by suggesting where the router and each node should be placed and tested the connection strength afterward.
After we set up the network, we took a look at the included features. For instance, are parental controls available out of the box, or did we need to sign up for a monthly plan? What type of security protocols and protections were in place from the get-go?
We then conducted a number of speed tests and benchmarks to test connectivity in a quantitative format. After those benchmarks, we measured the performance in a qualitative manner with our everyday workflows on a plethora of devices. We also stress-tested with more than 100 devices on the network at any given time. In the realm of smart home, we looked at what extra connectivity was included inside the router.
Without a doubt, the ZenWiFi AX (XT8) is the most advanced mesh networking system we tested in our first round. And Asus has taken the kitchen sink approach here — it’s a tri-band system with a single lane for 2.4 GHz and two lanes for 5 GHz. You can opt to broadcast a single network, combining all three bands, or split them up if you want to decide which network a device connects to. Additionally, the XT8 offers a built-in VPN that will keep your coffee shop Wi-Fi sessions safe and allow you to access your home network. It also works with Amazon’s Alexa platform, or you can create automations with the website If This Then That (IFTTT).
The XT8 will block malicious sites, allows for parental controls and will even let you designate which device or content types should be prioritized across your home network. Each access point supports an external hard drive for network access, which, if combined with VPN features, will put your files at your fingertips no matter where you are.
Our lone complaint about the XT8 has nothing to do with performance but rather the overall interface for managing the network. There are so many options; this system is clearly designed for someone who is comfortable with managing a network, and even then it’s still somewhat intimidating.
Asus sells the XT8 in two-packs for $449, making it the most expensive setup we tested.
In terms of its feature set, the Eero, originally known as the “all-new Eero” (in 2019), is pretty similar to the Eero 6. It has a slightly bulkier design, lacks the Zigbee antenna for easy smart home connectivity and, most importantly, is missing Wi-Fi 6 support. At only $80 more for a three-pack, it makes sense to spend the extra for the latest-generation router.
With its foolproof setup process, nearly unrivaled speeds and coverage areas, Eero 6 was our favorite mesh system before the introduction of the Eero 6+, which we recommend at this point (the systems will set you back the same amount, so there’s no reason to sacrifice the bandwidth gains you’ll get from the newer version. If prices drop on the old version and your needs are modest, it could be worth a look.
The Eero Pro 6 is the step-up model from the Eero 6, now supplanted by the newer Eero Pro 6E (which is a better deal, and provides better performance). Aside from a shorter and wider design, it has a few other pro features. Notably, this supports gigabit speeds (aka 1,000 Mbps) on upload and download in a mesh configuration. If you’re paying for those speeds, like with Fios Gigabit, it makes sense to pay the extra and opt for the Pro 6.
It also has a bit more room for devices to connect with a tri-band setup. That means it has a three-lane highway versus a two-lane setup on a dual-band router. In total, the Eero Pro 6 features a single 2.4 GHz band and two 5 GHz bands. It’s a noticeable difference if you have more than 100 data-heavy devices connected all at once.
Eero’s Pro 6E system has all of the bells and whistles as our top pick the Eero 6+ such as Eero Plus, parental controls, easy setup and an easy-to-use
What makes the Pro 6E so special, and more expensive, is that it supports the latest connectivity standard Wi-Fi 6E, which increases overall throughput and speeds and the number of devices your network can handle at the same time. More specifically, the Eero Pro 6E can support up to 2.3Gbps, over 100 devices and covers 2,000 square feet per access point.
Google’s Nest Wi-Fi mesh networking system used to be the gold standard of mesh systems: It’s incredibly simple to set up and manage, with everything done directly in the Google Home app. You can bundle devices into groups and set access schedules, or pause Wi-Fi access on demand through the app or by telling Google Assistant.
You can also use those same groups to block access to inappropriate websites. From the initial setup process to more advanced controls, using Nest Wi-Fi is very easy and meant for those who aren’t all that tech-savvy. It’s truly a set-it-and-forget-it mesh networking system.
Each Nest Wi-Fi access point acts as a Google Home device, meaning you can use the wake phrase of “OK/Hey Google” to ask questions and control your smart home devices.
The Velop MX4200 is Linksys’ original Wi-Fi 6 mesh networking system, with useful features such as supporting network hard drives, support for up to 2,404 Mbps on Wi-Fi 6 and three gigabit LAN ports on each access point.
You can tell the system to prioritize a device if you need to ensure you don’t break up during a video call, for example, or if you want to be certain your gaming session is getting all the bandwidth it needs. You can also set up basic parental controls, like pausing internet access on a specific device, setting a schedule or blocking specific websites.
The Linksys Atlas Max 6E hits all of the marks for a Wi-Fi 6E system — a wide 9,000 square foot coverage area, support for over 195 devices at the same time, and speeds up to 8.4 Mpbs. Our testing showed the system can indeed put out impressive speeds (though we don’t have the capabilities to test its full potential), and coverage was slightly above average. Although, we did have to adjust our normal testing placement to bring two of the access points closer together, which isn’t something we have to often do. Furthermore, the app for controlling the system doesn’t provide an option to group devices for parental controls, for instance, if your kids are like ours, they have multiple devices and having to manually adjust individual devices all the time gets tiresome.
Plume’s $159 SuperPods with Wi-Fi 6 are incredibly easy to set up and start getting better Wi-Fi coverage throughout your home. You could opt to use a single SuperPod as a traditional router or pair it with additional pods for a full mesh system. Either way, Plume’s $99 per year HomePass subscription service takes care of optimizing the network, blocking malware and ads, and gives you access to parental controls. In addition to managing your network for you, HomePass also doubles as a home security system; the Pods have built-in motion sensors that can alert you if something or someone is moving in your home — and it’ll even include the name of the room where the movement has been detected. It’s really cool and all of this aims to let you forget about your network setup.
In our test setup, we used five SuperPods to cover a two-story home and a detached office. Each Pod also features two Ethernet ports, which is handy if you prefer a hardwired connection, say for a smart TV or computer or gaming console.
One potential downside to Plume’s offering is that without the yearly HomePass subscription, the pods won’t include many of the advanced features such as guest modes, content filets and parental controls. For this reason, for most people, we’d recommend our top pick of the Eero 6 whether you want to use it as a traditional router or in a mesh setup. But if you don’t mind paying extra for a reliable mesh Wi-Fi network with some added smarts, then the Plume SuperPods are worth looking at.
The Netgear Orbi AX600 supports the current Wi-Fi 6 standards and features some smart home connectivity. But you’re paying a lot of money for the AX600: $999 for a two-pack.
For that price, it’s a tri-band experience and 6 Gbps-capable router (which translates to 6,000 Mbps in total). But you’ll need a really fast connection from your service provider to deliver that. Given this router’s high price point, you’re much better off opting for an Eero 6E system.
The entry-level Orbi AX1200 from Netgear is a bare-bones mesh system that features a neat geometric design pattern on small square routers. Like the Eero 6, it’s a dual-band system that can cover 4,500 square feet of space, slightly less than what our top pick can deliver. In our testing, it was about 50 Mbps to 75 Mbps behind the other routers we tested, and it doesn’t feature Wi-Fi 6 support.
Like the Eero and SmartThings Wi-Fi, there’s a companion Orbi app that hides a majority of security and parental control features behind a monthly plan. Netgear has partnered with Circle for parental controls here. The combination of subscriptions ends up being pricier than Eero’s, so given the balance of price and performance we’d recommended going with that system instead.
The biggest — and really, only — problem we have with the Netgear Orbi AXW11000 is its price. At $1,500, you’d better be really sure you haveto have this system. That said, its specification sheet does begin to explain its high price tag. The AXW11000 supports up to 10.8Gbps speeds, 9,000 square feet of coverage, and 200 devices on the same network. On top of that, the Orbi app isn’t as intuitive as Eero’s for common tasks like parental controls. And more advanced tasks require you to use a dedicated admin portal via your web browser.
That said, this system is fast and powerful and definitely something we’d urge you to consider if it wasn’t so expensive, or if you have the budget and need for its ultra-high performance.
Samsung’s SmartThings Wi-Fi launched in late 2018 and hasn’t received a hardware update since. The real highlight of the SmartThings Wi-Fi system, outside of its mesh networking capabilities with support of up to 32 different hubs (yes, you read that right, 32) is that it doubles as a smart home hub for the SmartThings platform.
That means you can use it to connect to and control any product or service that works with SmartThings, such as the recently added Nest product line, along with countless other accessories and devices. SmartThings Wi-Fi has support for Zigbee and Z-Wave protocols, allowing compatible devices to connect directly to the hub, adding to its feature set.
As for its Wi-Fi capabilities, you get free access to the Plume app, which provides access to more advanced Wi-Fi controls and mesh networking features. But despite the capabilities of Plume’s networking features, it’s also a drawback of SmartThings Wi-Fi because you’re forced to use two different applications to manage your home network, with each one offering different settings.
We hope that Samsung updates SmartThings Wi-Fi with modern features and connection speeds, because its smart home features and platform are some of the best for a mesh networking system.
On paper, the TP-Link Deco XE75 checks all of the boxes. It supports Wi-Fi 6E, up to 200 devices, 7,200 square feet and speeds of up to 5,400mbps. But we struggled with interference issues, which often lead to troubleshooting in the Deco app for network interference — of which, there was a lot — and that’s not something we experienced with other systems we tested in the same environment. When the Deco XE75 was working properly, the speeds were slightly lower than the Eero 6+, and the parental controls felt well thought out and streamlined for anyone to put to use.
The Deco X55 is an affordable Wi-Fi 6 mesh system, with a three-pack priced at $219. For that, you get three access points with coverage of 6,500 total square feet, a max speed of 2,400Mbps, and the same Deco app for parental controls and managing your network. However, the X55 was also impacted by interference issues in our testing. Again, that’s not something we experienced with other systems that we tested. When it was working, speeds weren’t as impressive as the competition. This is not a system we’d recommend — it’s better to step up to the Eero 6+, especially when its available at a comparable price.
A three-pack of Vilo’s mesh Wi-Fi system is priced incredibly low at $80 and does a good job of covering your space in Wi-Fi. It’s a system designed for basic internet use and streaming, and not for a household with multiple online gamers or 4K streams. The Vilo app is basic and frustrating at times, but once your system is set up, you shouldn’t have to spend too much time using the app. If you need a bare-bones network and don’t want to spend a ton, Vilo surely gets the job done.
Read more from CNN Underscored’s hands-on testing:
CATO, N.Y., March 2, 2022 (Newswire.com)
– iCone Products LLC announces today the creation of a cloud-based data service for digitally marked work zone events called the R.O.A.D™ Database.
Smart and connected work zones are becoming commonplace in North America, supported by integrated Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Consolidating this set of traffic control and roadway infrastructure devices – otherwise known as an “Internet of Road Work (IoR™)” – allows drivers, contractors, traffic managers, and others to receive real-time status information about key traffic control devices being used in roadway construction operations and any disruptive anomalies they may cause to surface transportation.
The Real Ontime Accurate Data (R. O. A. D.)™ for Work Zones is a cloud-based database of road event data supplied by preeminent equipment and infrastructure developers, IoT equipment retrofit companies, construction operators, maintenance and traffic control companies. These organizations all work together to provide data for safer roads. This database represents an industry-first in that it is populated by the actual producers and generators of the work-zone data, collectively known as the Work-Zone Data Industry (WZDi™).
The R.O.A.D Database will be the clearinghouse for work zone-generated attributes that may require corrective or attentive action or alertness from roadway users. The launch of the R.O.A.D database will involve a significant portion of the WZDi, made possible through relationships with several major traffic control equipment manufacturers, pavement marking companies and other significant producers of smart work zone technology and data that perform tasks on a daily basis such as temporary work zones, lane closures, protecting lives and equipment, painting lanes, closing roads, and performing maintenance, through automatic communications from devices integrated inside roadway assets.
One of the founding data suppliers to the R.O.A.D Database is the originator of the Internet of RoadWork (IoR™), iCone Products’ ConnectedTech™ Data Community (CTDC), which combines universal smart retrofit kits for work zone equipment and includes data from devices built by most of the companies within the portable traffic control equipment market.
The R.O.A.D Database will adhere to the established protocol of data feeds for the collection and distribution of information related to the location and activity of road work developed by The Federal Geographic Data Committee Transportation Subcommittee Work Zone Data Working Group. R.O.A.D. intends to enhance this feed with additional certification of valid traffic control components with secure, documented data transfers, with a verified chain of custody from the field device to the client. This extra layer of compliance is the WZDi’s process of ensuring that the data produced is accurate, timely, and meaningful.
iCone Products, LLC is guiding the future of Work Zone Safety. As the creator of the IoR – Internet of RoadworkTM, iCone has developed a suite of ConnectedTech™ products that collects and transmits real-time information about the status of the roadways into the cloud. Navigation applications, traffic control centers, and contractors receive the information to assist motorists in navigation, protect crews in work zones, and create an overall safer environment on public roadways around the world. As an integrated technology platform, iCone’s devices can mark virtually anything that may intrude upon a public right-of-way that would cause a vehicle to change either its speed or direction of travel.
iCone’s ConnectedTech Data Community is designed to provide a unique and broad digital collection of surface roadway operators that collectively contribute information along with iCone Internet of Roadwork (IoR™) – enabled equipment to a repository of data that provides increased safety through an additional layer of security for both workers and oncoming motorists. This data is also provided to the navigation community, improving route navigation through direct communication with in-car navigation systems such as Google Maps, Waze and eventually directly displayed in the dash of automobiles.
In their latest how-to series, Christian with Quantum Integration teaches users how to set up their own temperature-controlled IR fan on the Quantum platform in real-time.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., December 15, 2020 (Newswire.com)
– Quantum Integration is showcasing its latest tutorial series, sharing what is possible in the realm of home automation with just the Quantum platform and a few pieces of hardware. Episode five of the ‘Made with Quantum’ features QA Tester Christian, who provides a real-time demonstration showcasing how, with the Quantum platform, users can set up a fan to turn on or off automatically based on the temperature of the room.
Using the temperature sensor from the Starter Kit, infrared LED, Q-Client, and Q-Server, users are provided a real-time, easy-to-follow tutorial to create their own temperature-controlled smart devices from start to finish. The DHT11 temperature sensor, included with the Starter Kit, may be familiar to many DIY enthusiasts for its ability to measure both temperature and humidity, providing just a glimpse of what is possible when it comes to smart home applications.
Building the firmware — the instructions that tell the hardware what it’s meant to be doing — is a breeze on the Quantum platform. Users with no coding experience can build their own powerful systems for any project using Quantum’s sleek, drag-and-drop interface and firmware generation.
According to their blog, “Projects like this one will show you that anyone, regardless of technological experience, can bring it to life with our platform. The only limitation to what you can make is your own imagination.” The full post can be viewed here.
The Quantum IoT platform enables electronics hobbyists to create wireless devices from a simple button to home automation and robots, and control it with custom apps and firmware without coding, all through a central server. The power of making! For more information, visit www.quantumintegrate.com.
Following a successful Kickstarter release, the highly anticipated Quantum Q-Server and Q-Clients have been well received by its backers.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., November 24, 2020 (Newswire.com)
– Quantum Integration, following a successful Kickstarter campaign for its complete Internet of Things (IoT) platform for hobby enthusiasts, has announced that its Quantum IoT platform has been well received by early supporters. Earning praise for its ease of use, versatility and the control it provides users without coding knowledge, the Quantum IoT platform is ideal for those with the passion to create wireless projects.
The Quantum IoT platform was designed from the ground up for novices and experts alike to give users the freedom and control to create without learning complex coding languages. “I’ve purchased a few different Arduino and Raspberry Pi kits during the last year for my own learning and for teaching my kids how to be builders and creators,” according to John A., in a recent testimonial. “While each platform has different strengths and weaknesses, the Quantum Q-Server and Q-Clients are great because they allow you to start building projects in less than an hour with no coding required and no need to install complex development tools.”
“But what really makes the Quantum platform unique is that these are Internet-enabled and wireless-enabled projects. This not only allows your Q-Clients to communicate wirelessly with each other, but you can also control and interact with the Q-Clients through your web browser.” This means users have the potential to develop a powerful IoT network, controlling things like remote temperature sensors, automated and smart home projects, and even robots.
He goes on to add, “While it is possible to accomplish similar results with Arduino and Raspberry Pi, it would take weeks or months to learn the skills and write the code to accomplish the same thing on these other platforms that can be done in minutes or hours on the Quantum platform.” With the Quantum IoT platform, users can get to building quicker than ever before, developing their own automations, firmware, and apps.
The Quantum IoT platform enables electronics hobbyists to create wireless devices from a simple button to home automation and robots, and control it with custom apps and firmware without coding, all through a central server. The power of making! For more information, visit www.quantumintegrate.com.
Partnership Will Expand Internet Access and Smart City Services in Underserved Areas
Press Release –
updated: Sep 2, 2020
RICHARDSON, Texas, September 2, 2020 (Newswire.com)
– Sology Solutions today announced a strategic partnership with Smart City Media, LLC, which will further its efforts to bridge the digital divide across the United States. The companies share a belief in addressing the needs of underserved communities, while building out a citywide network and generating significant revenue for municipalities to fund critical needs.
This partnership reflects Sology’s ecosystem-driven business model and its commitment to identify partners with a like-minded vision to help the underserved. As indicated in recent new alliances with Hollywall Development Company (HWDC) and Clifton, Weiss & Associates (CWA), Sology recognizes it requires a consortium of players who take a holistic and inclusive approach in order to put the necessary infrastructure into place for these areas.
“Smart City Media shares in Sology’s vision of serving communities and people who are currently underserved. They are an outstanding partner and together we look forward to meeting the critical needs of cities across the country,” said Tom Touchet, CEO of Smart City Media.
As a systems integrator, Sology works with Smart City Media to deploy kiosks and an associated digital infrastructure known as CityPost®, an interactive broadcast that mixes curated local posters and city apps for enhanced street-level communications. The company’s services include real-time, multimodal transit info, IoT safety services, and small business inclusion. The network of smart community bulletin boards is designed, installed, operated, and managed by a team dedicated to helping grow smart city services. The CityPost platform democratizes outdoor media and powers smart city connectivity and services.
“These kiosks are not only an end device for use in tourist and high-traffic areas. With the build-out of the fiber network to manage the displays, it becomes a foundation for smart cities to put into place the necessary infrastructure to close this critical digital gap,” said Ed Christmas, Sology’s founder and managing principal. “The pandemic has heightened the need for home WiFi for schoolchildren and remote workers alike.”
While other companies may focus on deployment into high-traffic areas that already have WiFi, Sology and Smart City Media are deliberate to deploy kiosks into areas without internet access. They pledge to collaborate with cities to identify programs and content that will leverage technology to help connect vulnerable communities to opportunities and resources they need to be part of the successful growth of the city.
Sology and Smart City Media are dedicated to using technology to drive inclusive economic growth that improves the quality of life for all socio-economic communities. Digital access points and integration into existing infrastructure allow for rapid expansion of public Wi-Fi, digital citizen engagement at the kiosks, and reduction of the digital divide.
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About Sology Solutions Sology Solutions is an integrated technology solutions provider, digitizing spaces to make them intelligent and connected. Focusing on smart communities and transportation, Sology works with its technology partners to deliver networked integration that is scalable and future ready. Applications include smart streetlight control, digital kiosks, gunshot detection, video analytics, and intelligent traffic and notification systems. Demonstrating leadership in the demand for smarter and safer communities, Sology improves the security, operational efficiency, and situational awareness of communities by leveraging the network to connect devices, making them “smart” and even predictive. Sology is a Cisco Premier Certified Partner and a certified Minority Business Enterprise.
About Smart City Media
Smart City Media is one of the fastest-growing companies in the Internet of Things (IoT) market and aims to connect the unconnected by infusing media, technology and interactivity into places and spaces it has never been before. Smart City Media blends virtual and physical worlds together with great thought, cause, and care.
Jack Uldrich, Founder of the School of Unlearning, will deliver a keynote on the future of cities in Glendora, CA.
Press Release –
Oct 12, 2016
Los Angeles, CA, October 12, 2016 (Newswire.com)
– Autonomous vehicles, the sharing economy, MOOCs, Urban farming, and the Internet of Things –these are just a few of the trends that will impact the future of cities and metropolitan regions, according to Urban Futurist Jack Uldrich.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that Futurists, like Uldrich, who focus specifically on urban trends can be exceptionally helpful resources; helping city officials and planners spot highly innovative, but not necessarily well-known advances in technology.
More cities and economic development agencies are starting to hire futurists, and it makes good sense. City planners are often so bogged down with what is happening right now that they don’t always have the time to take a deep dive into the technological advances that will impact the future.
Jack Uldrich , Urban Futurist
As a futurist and trend expert, that is Uldrich’s sole purpose. The days he isn’t speaking, he spends researching and writing on game-changing technology, as well as reviewing history and philosophy. His keynotes are often peppered with quotes from Lao Tzu and stories from bygone eras while also keeping his audiences apprised of the latest breakthroughs.
Uldrich says, “More cities and economic development agencies are starting to hire futurists, and it makes good sense. City planners are often so bogged down with what is happening right now they don’t always have the time to take a deep dive into the technological advances that will impact the future.”
When it comes to city planning, he says, “The recent upswing in the sharing economy alone is changing the shape of city economies everywhere,” says Uldrich. “Think: Uber and Airbnb. What will the next big trend in collaborative consumption be? Will urban farming impact local grocers? My prediction is it will. Just as MOOCs, (Massive Open On-line Courses) will affect higher education, and the cities where universities, colleges, and community colleges are situated.”
Today, at 6 pm in Glendora, California, Jack Uldrich will deliver his latest keynote, “A Look into the Future: It’s Closer than You Think,” at Glendora High School Event Center, 1600 E. Foothill Blvd, Glendora, California 91741. The event is free and open to the public.
Uldrich’s client list includes the Savannah Economic Development Agency, the Downtown Council of Minneapolis, the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce and the Miami Downtown Development Agency, and the Urban Land Institute. He also speaks around the world on unlearning, change management, and technological advances in energy and utilities, manufacturing, education, healthcare, retail and finance.
Following his engagement in California, he will travel to Lansing, MI to address the Michigan Health and Hospital Association on October 18.
Parties interested in more information on Jack, his upcoming engagements and writing may view his website here.
