Verizon Gives IT More Control Over Wireless Networks

Beware the Hidden Dangers of the Internet of Things

Looking to give IT organizations more control over the level of priority at which certain traffic flows over a wireless network, Verizon this week added a Private Network Traffic Management solution to its wireless networking portfolio. It will be used primarily within the context of Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

Verizon has been offering a Verizon Private Network 4G LTE network service as an alternative to the public Internet or more expensive MPLS lines. Carlos Benavides, an associate director for the Verizon Product Management team, says that IT organizations can send traffic from endpoints without having to set up their virtual private network (VPN).

With the addition of Private Network Traffic Management, Benavides says Verizon is now making it possible for IT organizations to access a console through which they can determine which network traffic should be prioritized in the event there is congestion on the network.

Like most carriers, Verizon is betting heavily that the surge of interest in IoT applications is going to drive a spike in demand for wireless services to connect all those endpoints to a network. While there are going to be multiple ways of doing that, most endpoints will likely be in places that are only accessible via a wireless network. As more endpoints are added to those networks, it’s only a matter of time before congestion becomes at least an occasional issue.

While that may mean more reliance on carriers in the future to provide that connectivity, it doesn’t mean that internal IT organizations will need to give up control of those networks.