Interdigital Internet of Things Keynote at Telecom Council of Silicon Valley: Non-Standard M2M Adoptions Won't Survive Market Test

Executive Vice President Allen Proithis Validates Challenges With New Survey Data From IHS Research

WILMINGTON, Del., May 2, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allen Proithis of InterDigital, Inc. (Nasdaq:IDCC), a wireless research and development company, today delivered a keynote address at the Telecom Council's Mobile Forum on M2M in Santa Clara, California. Speaking to a group of nearly 100 industry experts, Mr. Proithis highlighted the need for standards-based M2M solutions, and predicted that many of the companies currently involved in proprietary M2M solutions would not survive the transition to a standards-based, interoperable Internet of Things.

"If history holds true, and standards and platforms do have the same effect in M2M as they've had throughout technology history, I'm going to predict that the vast majority of companies that have been involved in M2M to date – doing custom integrations, building proprietary solutions, deploying systems soup to nuts – will disappear within the next decade or so, unless they make a substantial change to their business," said Mr. Proithis, Executive Vice President of InterDigital Solutions. "The standardization process creates a worldwide, massive R&D project – a crowdsourcing – that incents engineers and inventors around the globe to discover the best answers to the hardest problems. And everyone benefits from that research – existing companies, certainly consumers, but also new companies that can find new ways of doing business because the core technical challenges have been solved."

In his keynote, Mr. Proithis stated that standards are the most critical piece of the Internet of Things puzzle. Survey data by leading information and analytics firm IHS (NYSE:IHS), released today at the Telecom Council's Mobile Forum, supported his view. When asked by the survey what they see as the biggest challenges in reaching mass adoption for M2M and the Internet of the Things, a panel of wireless industry executives responded as follows:

• 86 percent of respondents see standards, architecture and interoperability as the number one challenge in M2M reaching mass adoption;
   
• 57 percent of respondents named merging diverse architectures as a challenge with M2M industry standards; and
   
• 57 percent of respondents named timelines of standard committees as a challenge with M2M industry standards.
   
• 4 of the top 5 concerns involved standards and industry collaboration around matters like APIs, while the fifth primary challenge was the installed base of proprietary platform.

"The M2M market is growing rapidly and transforming into the Internet of Things with the proliferation of connected devices and cloud-based solutions," said Bill Lesieur, Electronics & Media senior analyst, IHS, who was the event's featured analyst. "As the results of our recent survey indicate, developing an industry standard for this space is critical to support mass adoption, and leaders recognize this as a top priority. Standards provide several key benefits including simplifying application and delivery, facilitating interconnectivity and reducing costs."

About InterDigital^®

InterDigital develops fundamental wireless technologies that are at the core of mobile devices, networks, and services worldwide. We solve many of the industry's most critical and complex technical challenges, inventing solutions for more efficient broadband networks and a richer multimedia experience years ahead of market deployment. InterDigital has licenses and strategic relationships with many of the world's leading wireless companies. Founded in 1972, InterDigital is listed on NASDAQ and is included in the S&P MidCap 400 index.

InterDigital is a registered trademark of InterDigital, Inc.

For more information, visit: www.interdigital.com.

CONTACT: Patrick Van de Wille
         Email: patrick.vandewille@interdigital.com
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