Sprint already has the “key ingredients” to thrive in the Internet of Things space, its Senior Vice President of IoT Ivo Rook said on the sidelines of the 2018 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Kansas City Business Journal reports. Mr. Rook took over the company’s IoT unit on January 1st after moving from a similar role at Vodafone and claims the fourth largest wireless carrier in the United States is already well-positioned to capitalize on the emerging segment. Besides Sprint’s own investments in the sector, its parent SoftBank has also been making significant financial commitments to IoT, which Mr. Rook highlighted as yet another positive sign for the Overland Park, Kansas-based company and its prospects.
Data analytics solutions are one of the key focus points of both Sprint and SoftBank’s IoT efforts, with Mr. Rook being quick to point out that advancements in the segment will allow the wireless carrier to not just better understand how to improve the quality of its offerings but also come to accurate conclusions in regards to how to monetize them more effectively. The Sprint IoT Factory is presently at the forefront of the company’s push in the sector, with Mr. Rook being convinced the e-commerce solution will be extremely appealing to small, innovative businesses looking to deliver new Internet-enabled technologies on a scale. The accessibility and comprehensiveness of the platform are advertised as one of its main selling points that Sprint is hoping will allow it to play a major role in the IoT revolution which Mr. Rook claims already began and will lead to massive adoption rates starting this year.
In the long term, Sprint’s executive claims many IoT technologies will help improve not just industries but societies as a whole, specifically pointing to the healthcare segment that it expects to eventually become more focused on preventive treatments and helping people lead healthy lifestyles instead of being reactionary. Its ability to do so will be fueled by data collected and sent for processing by various devices with capabilities and connectivity powered by what Sprint is hoping will be its own solutions. IoT currently represents one of Sprint’s main diversification avenues and is also being aggressively pursued by other national mobile service providers in the U.S.