IBM to retire Bluemix Data Connect service

IBM Bluemix Data Connect, a fully managed data preparation and integration service, will retire on March 30, 2018, IBM recently announced. Existing instances will be supported until that time, but no new instances can be provisioned past January 22, 2018. Data associated with any instance still provisioned as of the end of support date will be retained for 30 days, according to the blog. “During that time the Data Connect team will work with customers to get access to their data if needed. Customers will be contacted with details on how to migrate to a replacement service on Watson Data Platform prior to the End of Support Date,” according to the blog.

Nokia, T-Mobile and Intel share 5G milestone

Nokia, T-Mobile and Intel have reached a milestone in their 5G collaboration by bringing a 28 GHz outdoor 5G commercial radio system on air in the busy downtown corridor of Bellevue in Washington state, according to a press release. A data session was conducted on a 28 GHz radio in a field test environment using the Nokia 5G commercial AirScale solution and the 5G Mobile Trial Platform (MTP) from Intel, enabling T-Mobile to deploy its first inter-vendor 5G network. It’s a first step in moving 5G development from labs into the field, according to a press release. 

FirstNet sets sights on IoT offerings

With all 50 states, two U.S. territories and Washington, D.C. joining the FirstNet network – a broadband network for first responders – the organization now has the groundwork for connected and smart city offerings. In March, the U.S. Department of Commerce commissioned AT&T to build the $46.5 billion wireless broadband network dedicated to first responders, which includes giving responders their own “fast lane” on the public safety network to communicate and share information during emergencies, large events or other situations when commercial networks could become congested. According to a FierceWireless report, FirstNet’s contract with AT&T calls for the company to deliver a portfolio of IoT devices by March 2018, which could be used by police, firefighters and others to create, for example, monitoring and tracking systems.

Arrow Electronics plans to acquire eInfochips for IoT expansion

Arrow Electronics announced plans to acquire design and managed services provider eInfochips as the distributor looks to dramatically expand its IoT strategy and offerings, according to CRN. The acquisition will add more than 1,500 IoT solution architects, engineers and software development resources to the distributor's arsenal, to expand Arrow’s IoT offerings and move it into the rapidly growing IoT services market.

Kohler connects bathrooms with Azure IoT

Applications that control a new line of connected mirrors, faucets, lighting and toilets that Kohler will roll out at CES this week are built on Microsoft Azure, according to a ZDNet report. Kohler devices, like its mirror, smart toilet and faucet, connect to users' Wi-Fi and then to Azure IoT Hub. “It's the Hub that acts as a command center for processing and triggering action and collecting health about the system. Azure services are what enables a user to start their shower and maintain water at a specified temperature, as well as control water usage,” Mary Jo Foley reports in the story.