Episode 147: Okay Google, manage my home

At CES I made the decision to traumatize my family and swap out the Amazon Echo for the Google Home despite Wi-Fi challenges. We kick off this week’s show explaining why, and discussing some new tricks the Home has. From there, we hit the partnership between Maersk and IBM to create a digitized supply chain using the blockchain. Then we talk about a startup that might help with that effort. Add in news bits ranging from BMW acquiring ParkMobile to a new low power wide area network module that can last 15 years, and we round out the first half of the show. We also answer a listener question about radiation from IoT devices. If you’re not clued in on this subject, we’re living among radiation with things like WI-Fi and phone signals in our homes, which is why some are resorting to purchasing an EMF Meter to measure these levels of radiation. Listen on if you’re interested.

Port of Algeciras, Spain. Image courtesy of Maersk.

Our guest takes us back to the topic of IoT networks and the future 5G holds for the internet of things. Chetan Sharma is the founder of Chetan Sharma Consulting, and is a widely respected telecom analyst. He talks about what networks are likely to succeed and why, and then also digs into his thoughts on how we should rethink competition and M&A in the digital economy. He also asks if it’s too late to regulate anticompetitive data practices in the U.S. I hope you enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Chetan Sharma of Chetan Sharma Consulting
Sponsors: PointCentral and CBT Nuggets

  • The Google Home has a secret API
  • IBM and Maersk ask what blockchain can do for shipping
  • What 5G means for IoT and which flavor arrives first
  • Things to know when picking a LPWAN
  • Our anticompetitive regime is built for the 20th century, not the 21st

Published by

Stacey Higginbotham

I am a journalist who has covered technology for over a decade at publications such as Fortune, PCMag, Gigaom, The Deal and BusinessWeek.