Summary - D.1142 (11/2025) - Guidelines on economic and policy aspects of Internet of things (IoT)

Recommendation ITU-T D.1142 defines Internet of things (IoT) as a global infrastructure for the information society, enabling advanced services by interconnecting (physical and virtual) things based on existing and evolving interoperable information and communication technologies. Remotely linked tags, sensors, etc. are increasingly being built into objects/devices throughout the physical world due to rapidly falling cost of microchips, sensors and communication services.
Thus, IoT offers many opportunities not only to grow economy but also to improve the quality of life. Internet of things will consist of billions of connected devices communicating with each other, and this influx of connected devices will create demand for spectrum, will involve re-visiting traditional licensing frameworks and will look at roaming and tariff aspects of these services including various aspects of consumer protection.
In addition, promoting IoT by the national governments may have a cascading effect on the economy and socio-economic benefits in areas such as health and energy. It is, therefore, important to develop guidelines on economic aspects of IoT to ensure that economic benefits are spread in a sustainable manner and at the same time consumer interests are protected. It would also lead to Member States and national regulatory authorities (NRAs) to have a set of guidelines to refer to.