Episode 184: How to remake the Internet for IoT

This week Kevin and I start out discussing The Wi-Fi Alliance’s new branding for the wireless standard and why you don’t need to rush in to buy Wi-Fi 6 gear. We then turn to space, specifically, Iridium and Amazon’s decision to create an IoT network that uses satellites to deliver signals around the world where cellular doesn’t reach. California passed an IoT security law and Kevin talks about his high hopes for bringing IBM’s Watson into his smart home setup. We then ask why we’re not using NFC on door locks, talk about a thermostat acquisition, GE’s woes and Kevin shares his ideas for what else you can do with motion sensors. This week’s listener question involves a keg, a freezer and a request for electricity monitoring.

Lux Products makes the Kono thermostat. It was just purchased by Johnson Controls.

We continue with the space theme with this week’s guest Matthew Prince, who is the cofounder and CEO of Cloudflare, discussing a future version of the internet that would even handle the rigors of space travel. We talk about building an internet that is cheaper, distributed and not beholden to Google, Amazon and Facebook. We also talk about Cloudflare’s Workers edge computing platform, cheaper bandwidth and more. It’s a show that will make you feel smarter.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Matthew Prince, who is the co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare
Sponsor: Cognizant and Auklet

  • What’s up with Wi-Fi’s new branding?
  • The internet is going to space thanks to Amazon and Iridium
  • Four ways to use your open/close sensors
  • How the Bandwidth Alliance could save you money
  • Cloudflare updated its faster edge computing platform hosted around the globe

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.