As More Own Connected Devices, Analyst Sees Partnerships Developing

Sales of connected consumer devices will exceed 520 million units by 2022, reported Parks Associates. While service providers are well-positioned to deploy, maintain and service the smart home, they generally don’t want to develop and maintain a proprietary system to do so, said analyst Brad Russell in a Wednesday email blast. Partnerships with vendors that offer turnkey solutions can enable providers to serve present and future use cases, he said. Michael Weening, executive vice president-field operations for Calix, said leaders are “starting with tools that provide visibility into the home and supporting systems so they can deliver best-in-class whole-home Wi-Fi coverage.” Parks found 24 percent of U.S. broadband homes subscribed to professional monitoring at the end of 2018, more than 50 percent of consumers with professionally monitored security systems had basic interactivity and 10 percent owned at least one networked camera.