Key IoT applications demand support for voice services and specifically VoLTE/VoNR

Most of the Internet of Things (IoT) is focused on the delivery of data. However, there is a significant, and growing, share of the IoT opportunity that also has a requirement for voice services, of various types. The single most important category is connected vehicles, including factory-fit connectivity and regulated eCall capabilities. Other significant applications include access control/intercoms, consumer electronics, worker safety, elevators, people trackers and other forms of transportation. In this section we examine all of the key Internet of Things applications that have a requirement for voice.

Over the course of the last 15 years, Transforma Insights’ analysts have tracked the growing use of remote monitoring and management of a diverse array of distributed assets, including cars, industrial equipment, energy infrastructure and healthcare devices, for the purposes of improving customer experience, reducing costs of monitoring and management, and compliance with regulation, amongst other things. Collectively this trend has been termed the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT).

For the most part, IoT devices have been used for data transfer. However, there is a significant sub-set of IoT devices that also need to support voice services of various types. Some IoT use cases are enhanced by two-way communications (such as for doorbells), whereas in others there are regulatory mandates requiring the ability to initiate calls , for instance to emergency services (such as in eCall).

This article is an extract of a section from a recent Position Paper 'Why VoLTE/VoNR is a critical part of an IoT connectivity provider's portfolio' published in collaboration with ng-voice. In it, we consider some of the key scenarios in which IoT devices might demand voice communications, whether as enhancements to the application or as a critical part of them.

The focus of the section, and the report more broadly, is on devices that are cellular connected. Many others will need voice, including voice assistants on smart speakers and AR/VR devices but the vast majority of those will be short range (i.e. usually Wi-Fi) connected. The list below is based on Transforma Insights’ highly granular segmentation of IoT applications, which identifies 250 different categories of IoT application. In the list we identify those use cases where there will be a requirement for supporting voice services of some kind.

Connected vehicles

Cellular IoT applications demanding voice services can be broadly split into two main categories: automotive and non-automotive, reflecting the importance of the auto sector in cellular IoT. Collectively, according to Transforma Insights’ IoT Forecast Database, connected vehicles accounts for 33% of cellular-based IoT connections and 46% of cellular connectivity revenue, as of 2023. As such, the requirement for supporting voice within this sub-set of IoT will be a major consideration.

Transforma Insights identifies two main classes of connected vehicle use cases: those supported on the Vehicle Head Unit (VHU), i.e. the factory-fit telematics control unit, and those supported via aftermarket devices. The applications supported by these two approaches are typically quite similar, although with some variation: in-vehicle navigation is now rarely supported with an aftermarket device, while stolen vehicle recovery use cases will often favour such approaches.

The fact that the VHU needs to support multiple applications means that requirements for delivering voice services for any of the other applications will require the VHU to be able to support them. Furthermore there are additional services that may be more specific to an auto OEM’s VHU offering that demand voice but would be unlikely to be offered otherwise via aftermarket, most notably concierge services.

The key automotive use cases (whether via VHU or aftermarket) that have significant requirements for voice support are:

• eCall – Automatic emergency call (eCall) notification from a vehicle in the event of an accident. This includes emergency two-way voice calling under regulatory mandates such as ERA-GLONASS and eCall. It also includes equivalent non-mandated services provided by the automotive manufacturer such as GM’s OnStar ‘SOS’ button, or aftermarket dedicated eCall devices.

• Roadside Assistance – Also known as bCall (breakdown call) this application notifies recovery services in the event of a vehicle breakdown, often by initiating two-way voice calls. This may be delivered as part of an automotive OEM’s services or by way of an aftermarket device such as the Verizon Hum. Diagnostics and location tracking may be included to improve efficiency.

• Road Fleet Management – Covers in-vehicle transportation logistics including job allocation, vehicle tracking, vehicle and driver monitoring, maintenance planning, safety compliance, fuel management, and incident management in cars, vans, trucks, buses and heavy vehicles such as tractors and cranes. Can include two-way voice services for dispatch and driver interaction.

• Vehicle Rental, Leasing & Sharing Management – Onboard devices and VHU-hosted applications that are used to provide access to vehicles, and monitor and track the usage of vehicles lent to third parties. This may include traditional hire car companies, shared vehicle programs, and finance companies that lease vehicles to their users. We expect such applications will increasingly also feature the ability to interact with customer support via two-way voice calls.

• Road Public Transport – Connections to buses, specifically related to their role as public transport vehicles, such as the provision of on-board connectivity. Covers urban and inter-city vehicles including private hire coaches and school buses. Excludes infrastructure such as bus stations. Over coming years this will likely be evolved to include two-way voice communication.

This is not the totality of all automotive applications, but represents those where there is the greatest requirement for voice services.

Non-automotive use cases

In addition to the automotive use cases, we also note a wide variety of other IoT applications that either require, or would benefit from voice services:

• Access Control & Intercoms – Access control and intercoms in a smart building context (both consumer and enterprise), and also access control, venue monitoring and control in the context of amusement parks and sports venues. Additionally this includes a range of security solutions found in prisons (for example CCTV, door sensors, access control, and other security equipment). Also includes personal devices for border control guards, and devices specifically associated with border control points. The majority of devices will be short-range (e.g. Wi-Fi) connected, but cellular will feature, particularly for those devices, e.g. for security personnel, requiring voice services.

• Personal Portable Electronics – This category includes consumer electronics devices such as Headphones, Smart Watches and Connected Consumer Cameras. The most relevant application which will need to support voice services here is cellular-enabled smart watches.

• Worker Safety – Personal monitoring and support solutions for fire service, police, and emergency medical service personnel. Also includes lone worker safety in multiple vertical industrial contexts, particularly those involving dangerous environments such as logging and mining. Here the ability to initiate two-way voice calls is critical and may be mandated by regulation, either directly or indirectly (i.e. due to need to comply with occupational safety requirements).

• Security Tracking – Includes a range of security-related applications such as for security guards, prison guards, and also offender tagging. Also includes ‘smart soldier’ equipment used by defence personnel in a military context. The ability to initiate two-way voice calls will be a critical element for most applications for defence personnel, and prison and security guards.

• Vertical Transportation – Vertical transportation refers to all kinds of transportation systems used in high-rise buildings such as lifts and escalators. These are connected for the purposes of remote diagnostics and maintenance as well as for making two-way emergency calls, for instance for people trapped in elevators. In many countries there is a requirement to connect elevators for this purpose. Historically in many cases this was done with fixed PSTN lines, but with the increasing switch-off of PSTN, more are shifting to cellular.

• Portable Information Terminals – Portable information terminals for staff in a range of vertical contexts, including retail and hotels. In some cases there may be a requirement for initiating voice calls via such devices.

• Rail Transport – Connected freight railway locomotives and carriages, connected passenger railway carriages and locomotives. Includes connectivity for both asset tracking and for the provision of onboard connectivity services. Also includes two-way communication for drivers and staff.

• Assisted Living – Includes a range of applications associated with health and wellbeing, ranging from connected medicine dispensers to people-tracking devices for the elderly and infirm, to comprehensive, multi-device, assisted living solutions for patients that need significant day-to-day support and/or monitoring. The provision of two-way voice calling is a natural enhancement to such personal monitoring services.

• Child Tracking – Dedicated devices for tracking children, not including mobile phones, and not including any assisted living devices used by children. Will increasingly include the ability to initiate two-way calls to a limited number of people.

Other smaller categories of applications that may require voice services include Smart Glasses, Vending Machines, Electric Vehicle Charging, Delivery Robots, Payment Processing, Public Information & Advertising Screens, Personal Assistance Robots, Air Transport, Sea & River Transport, ATMs, Smart Home, and Telemedicine.

In the chart below, extracted from the report, we present each of the major categories of applications that are likely to use voice. We include an assessment of the size of the market (by volume of connections and value of the market) as well as a qualitative assessment of the criticality of voice to the application and the likelihood of needing to integrate secondary information with the call, e.g. video feeds, patient data, or location. The latter elements have implications for what form of voice services might need to be delivered, whether it be via VoLTE, over-the-top VoIP or other.

The bigger picture: a need to support VoLTE/VoNR

The wider conclusion of the report is that over one-fifth of cellular-based IoT revenue depends on the support for voice services. And furthermore, for the most part IoT applications demand the security, compliance, reliability, flexibility and other capabilities of VoLTE/VoNR, particularly with circuit switched fall-back to 2G/3G becoming increasingly unavailable. Any IoT connectivity provider needs an appropriate voice solution and with eroding margins needs to support it in a technically and commercially scaleable way.

About the report

The free Transforma Insights Position Paper ‘Why VoLTE/VoNR is a critical part of an IoT connectivity provider's portfolio’ examines the requirement for IoT applications to support voice services and the mechanisms required for IoT connectivity providers to do so. It starts by examining the key IoT applications that demand voice services, quantifies the opportunity associated with those applications, examines the technologies required to deliver voice services and identifies 11 key characteristics of an optimised voice capability that should be delivered by an IoT connectivity provider. The report is sponsored by voice solution provider ng-voice.