Arcep and its partners launch a public consultation on the topic of: “Preparing for the Internet of Things Revolution”

Paris, 19 July 2016

The deployment of the Internet of Things, and the resulting proliferation of applications, stakeholders and technologies, give rise to a broad array of issues, including:

-    the diversification of technologies, which will constitute the wealth of the Internet of Things by making it possible to address a plethora of use cases and to satisfy increasingly various needs, but whose interplay and coordination must be well thought out;
-    ensuring that resources are available to all stakeholders, which will be vital to rolling out solutions;
-    establishing naming and API standards; having proper control over these standards will be strategically key;
-    systems security and integrity, which are imperative to building market trust;
-    processing individuals’ and businesses’ data, and the ability for these data to pass from one system to another.

Some of these issues pertain particularly to the networks that will underpin the Internet of Things and concern Arcep directly, while others fall more marginally within or entirely outside the scope of its responsibilities.

Arcep wants to facilitate the market’s self-organisation, by taking a forward-looking approach working in concert with the other public sector players involved.

To lay the groundwork for the Internet of Things, working in tandem with France’s Directorate-General for Enterprise, (DGE), the National Frequency Agency (ANFR), the National Network and Information Security Agency (ANSII), French data protection authority CNIL, France Stratégie, and the Directorate-General for Planning, Housing and Land Management (DGALN), Arcep mapped out the multifarious challenges that lie ahead, and which extend well beyond its purview. Arcep also elicited contributions from a great many stakeholders during a series of meetings and workshops.

Today, Arcep is submitting to consultation a draft White Paper which consists of two documents that are the fruit of this collaborative work.

> The first document, titled “Preparing for the Internet of Things Revolution – Mapping out the challenges ahead” is co-signed by all of the partner administrations, and details the public policy issues that need to be addressed to ensure that the Internet of Things can be an engine of innovation, modernisation and competitiveness for the entire economy.

> The second document, titled “Preparing for the Internet of Things Revolution – Guidelines for Arcep”, lists all of the directions that Arcep wants to take in the short and medium term, to enable the Internet of Things to flourish, some of which may be set out as concrete action plans in the final White Paper.

The consultation will run until 16 September. Contributors can respond directly online at: www.arcep.fr/iot, on the dedicated page that will be opened up in the coming days.