INTERVIEW: With more than a million connected devices joining AT&T’s network each month, the company’s IoT president, Chris Penrose (pictured), believes the segment is moving beyond initial proof of concepts to achieving true scale across the globe.

Penrose told Mobile World Live in an interview at Mobile World Congress Americas that IoT is really starting to “take off in the states”, through everything from cars to cities.

Indeed, AT&T was one of the first movers with a dedicated IoT offering, launching its low power wide area network (LPWA), powered by LTE-M technology, nationwide in May 2017.

Penrose highlighted healthcare as a major driver for AT&T, which led to the US operator creating a dedicated innovation centre for the vertical to spur development.

He, however, also noted healthcare was more tricky to crack, given that there is more regulatory oversight and liability associated with any developments: “We have to make sure we are thinking through these issues and designing our solutions with this in mind. We are seeing more confidence in the healthcare space, with regards to taking on these types of solutions.”

Along with healthcare, Penrose also talked through advances in asset tracking through dedicated connected devices that run on its LPWA network, as well as connected cars. Click here to watch.