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Blockchain Technology

minimal computational power. Though this minimalistic build may seem to be a

challenge, it has helped reduce cost with smaller size and easy deployment where

limited network and electricity are available.

4.2  IPv6 AND 5G – ACCELERATING IoT GROWTH

IPv4, which was till recently the addressing standard for the Internet, has limited

address space. IPv4 posed a challenge to the IoT, as limited IP addresses meant that

only a limited number of devices could be connected to the Internet. The introduc­

tion and adoption of IPv6 paved the way for IoT, as it meant that more devices now

could be connected to the Internet with an IP address. IPv6 addressed the challenges

arising from addressing and reduced the complexity of NAT-ing (Network Address

Translation) and other network-related challenges.

The future of the IoT is now being accelerated with the introduction of fifth-

generation networks (5G). As per the International Data Corporation (IDC) report,

the global 5G facilities will result in 70% of companies investing $1.2 billion on con­

nection management solutions (“5G and IoT: The Mobile Broadband Future of IoT”

n.d.). The introduction of 5G will enable a faster and more efficient network for the

IoT. Multiple studies have been performed along these lines to enhance the network

capabilities of IoT further using 5G(S. Li, Da Xu, and Zhao, n.d.)

4.3  IoT ADOPTION AND APPLICATIONS

Today, IoT devices are available for the automation of day-to-day household-related

activities and are also available for large-scale industrial automation. Almost all

domains have IoT utilities, including smart household devices, wearable health mon­

itors for healthcare, connected cars in automobiles, traffic sensors for smart cities,

and the industrial use of IoT.

GSMA in a survey (“GSMA: The Impact of the Internet of Things” 2019) high­

lights that the daily usage of IoT devices in the house will increase many-fold. The

connectivity costs and the smart device costs continue a downward trajectory, and

the benefits attached to them continue to grow; thus, it is very likely that IoT will

continue to increase in the coming years. As per the survey, most families owned ten

connected devices in 2012. This is likely to increase to 25 in 2017, and up to 50 in

2022 (“GSMA: The Impact of the Internet of Things” 2019).

4.4  IoT FRAMEWORK

There is no well-defined framework of IoT due to a lack of standardization. Hence,

multiple models have been proposed (Makhdoom et al. 2019). Some of them are:

• Five-layer architecture – objects or perception layer, object abstraction

layer, service management, application layer and business layer (Al-Fuqaha

et al. 2015).

• Four-layer architecture – physical layer, perception layer, network layer and

the application layer (Kumar, Vealey, and Srivastava 2016).