Commentary

North American Consumers To Have 13 Connected Devices

The number of Internet connected devices that people have is going up, especially in North America.

There will be four networked devices and connections per person globally by 2021, according to the latest annual visual networking index forecast by Cisco.

However, in North America, there will be 13 networked devices and connections per person, up from eight last year.

The means that beyond smartphones and connected TVs, North American consumers will be adopting many more connected gadgets.

North America is well above the average by region when it comes to getting connected. For example, here are the projected number of networked devices and connection per person by region by 2021:

  • 13 – North America
  • 9 – Western Europe
  • 4 – Central and Eastern Europe
  • 3 – Latin America
  • 3 – Asia Pacific
  • 1 – Middle East and Africa

The end result is that all those connected devices will be creating new and massive data streams, much of which will be used to mine for new consumer insights.

During the same timeframe as the mass connected device adoption, broadband speeds will nearly double. Some of those speeds are already being delivered in the U.S. today by Verizon.

The speed and additional connections don’t necessarily mean that consumers will do things faster.

However, it does mean that consumer access to information and content, especially streaming video, will be accessible more quickly via more devices.

Over time, consumers are likely to lean more on their smart devices to automate tasks for them.

Today, this can be as simple as asking Amazon’s Alexa to order a coffee from Starbucks.

Tomorrow, this could involve the connected technology, powered by artificial intelligence, to know, in advance, when to order that coffee. And from where. And have it delivered via any number of means now in trial.

5 comments about "North American Consumers To Have 13 Connected Devices".
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  1. R MARK REASBECK from www.USAonly.US , June 12, 2017 at 5:18 p.m.

    I will have ZERO, and my privacy intact

  2. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, June 12, 2017 at 7:01 p.m.

    Just think of the possibilities, Mark. With 13 "connected devices" and soon, 25 or 50 of these devices the average consumer will be devoting anywhere from 20-24 hours a day to various forms of "electronic" media----my estimate includes "smart pillows and bedsheets" as well as "smart toilets",condoms, "combs", "dinnerware",  "toothbrushes"," shavers" , etc. btw. Then, the average consumer will be targeted by thousands of ads per day---each, specifically based on what he/she has just been doing or where he/she has just been. And all of these ads will be "relevant" to the audience, hence vastly more effective than plain old, mass targeted TV ads. With this impetus, sales for most products that use "smart" media buys should skyrocket, stimulating a national economic boom of undreamed of proportions. Wont that be simply great?

  3. Chuck Martin from Chuck Martin replied, June 12, 2017 at 7:25 p.m.

    Clever, Ed, and somewhat on the right track here.

  4. R MARK REASBECK from www.USAonly.US , June 12, 2017 at 10:20 p.m.

    Ed , I see , like me , "sarchasm" is your love language.  I agree with you, all this tech crap is for  vendors/services to be "in your face" while being 'In your mouth", (Come on, A TOOTHBRUSH).   Just cause you can develop it, doesn't mean it is practical.  Opps, my Lettuce APP, just went off, my lettuce crisper has dropped  2 degrees, and refuses to open my garage door.  Where's a hacker, when you need one ???

  5. Chuck Martin from Chuck Martin, June 13, 2017 at 9:59 a.m.

    You are correct in that some of the connected things introduced defy logic (or at least common sense), Mark. We see many of these at CES each year. Typicacally, on the following year, many of those are gone. So the market does decide.

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