Brazil begins to prepare effectively to enter the world race in Internet of Things from this Monday (12). The statement is from the Minister of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications, Gilberto Kassab, who signed a technical cooperation agreement with the president of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES, in Portuguese), Maria Silvia Bastos Marques. At the time, the federal government also launched a public consultation.

“Today and here, we provide an event and start an agreement that will cause important changes in our country, whether from the public point of view, in governance practices, or from the private point of view, by the expected impacts on companies”, said Kassab, during a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, in reference to the agreement consolidating the strategic partnership of the institutions to prepare the National Internet of Things Plan, under construction by an inter-ministerial chamber coordinated by MCTIC.

The first action of the partnership is the accomplishment of a technical study by a consortium formed by consultants McKinsey and Pereira Neto and the Research and Development Center in Telecommunication (CPqD), with financial support from BNDES, to diagnose the national scenario and propose public policies in the Internet of Things (IoT).

The minister classified the technology evolution as a possible landmark in the history of mankind. “Several countries have already advanced a lot, and Brazil, from now on, is also starting to organize, so that, through the Internet of Things, we can climb that step of our future”, he stressed. “A very radical transformation that takes place all over the world, changing the daily lives of all of us and the efficiency of governmental actions.”

IoT is the technological trend of digitally connecting everyday objects, as appliances, industrial machines and means of transportation, that start exchanging data with each other and shaping people's behavior. It enables monitoring and management of devices via software in order to increase the efficiency of systems and processes, enable new services and improve people's quality of life.

Contribution

The Information Technology Secretary of MCTIC, Maximiliano Martinhão, commented on the public consultation, open until January 16 at www.participa.br/cpiot (link is external). The research aims to identify key topics for the viability of IoT in Brazil, which should be considered and evaluated in the diagnostic stage. An additional step should be launched in the future, focusing on the prioritization of application segments and the construction of action plans.

According to the secretary, this process "can really change our industry, service delivery and development of the information and communication technology industry". Martinhão coordinates the IoT Chamber, joint committee responsible for subsidizing the formulation of federal public policies.

The National Plant of Internet of Things should be completed in 2017. In addition to public consultations, the policy under construction may receive elements from the BNDES study, aiming to structure a strategic agenda that addresses the main barriers and opportunities for Brazil to achieve the window of opportunity in this research area.

Source: MCTIC