[From the last episode: ProtocolsAn agreed way of doing something. Like a convention, except that protocols tend to be related to processes. are ways of doing things. Electronic protocols let multiple systemsThis is a very generic term for any collection of components that, all together, can do something. Systems can be built from subsystems. Examples are your cell phone; your computer; the radio in your car; anything that seems like a "whole." agree on how to do something so that they can work together.]

Anyone can come up with a protocol and get at least some people to agree to it. As long as everyone that matters agrees, then that’s all that’s necessary. That’s why North America uses 110-V electricity while Europe uses 220 V. Back when this was agreed, no one anticipated that one single piece of equipment might have to work in both places. With the exception of our cell phone chargers and laptops and a few other travel accessories, it still doesn’t matter because no one is trying to get a refrigerator or dishwasher to work in both places.

Within an economic region like North America or Europe, however, it’s helpful if everyone agrees so that refrigerator and dishwasher makers can make appliances that will work anywhere in that large area, if not anywhere in the world.

The Role of Standards

But who is doing the agreeing? I certainly know that no one has consulted me on any of this stuff, and it’s likely they haven’t consulted you either. This is where we enter the murky world of standardsA way of doing something specific that has been agreed by multiple parties in an official manner. Some "standards" aren't official standards; the best ones have been established in an open fashion, where anyone with an interest can contribute and where large companies can't push little companies around.. Loosely speaking, a standard is an agreement that has the approval of some authority. So, for example, a protocol can be approved as a standard. Anyone can come up with a protocol, but standards need to be blessed by a standards body.

Standards are useful for opening up markets. Think about your WiFiA common type of wireless network used to connect computers and phones to each other and the internet.: it’s a standard protocol that defines a way to do wireless communication. Because it’s a standard, you can buy any piece of WiFi equipment that complies with the standard – and it will work. If each company did wireless its own way, then you couldn’t just assume that two computers could talk to each other; you’d have to figure out which ones your computer worked with and limit yourself to those.

But just because something like WiFi is a standard doesn’t mean it’s the only way to do something. Bluetooth is a different way of doing wireless communication, and it’s also a standard. On the one hand, people tend to use Bluetooth differently from how they use WiFi, so they’re possibly solving different problems. But if you’re a company that makes WiFi devices and not Bluetooth devices, then you want more things to use WiFi so that you can sell more WiFi stuff. So you’re going to get push and pull between standards.

Standards for the IoT

When it comes to the IoTThe Internet of Things. A broad term covering many different applications where "things"  are interconnected through the internet., there are tons of protocols, but because some of them are very new, they aren’t officially standards yet. What makes a standard “official”? That actually gets a bitThe smallest unit of information. It is a shortened form of "binary digit." Since it's binary, it can have only two values -- typically 0 and 1. tricky. You might think that you just get all the makers and buyers and anyone else that cares together to agree, and you’re done. But it’s not quite so simple.

For good reasons, there are laws that make it illegal for competing companies to colludeCompeting companies getting together to reduce competition by agreeing on pricing or splitting up territories or in other ways arranging not to compete. This kind of collusion is, at least in the US, illegal (although enforcement isn’t guaranteed). – to get together to split up territories, agree on pricing, and other such anti-competitive practices. So anytime competitors sit down at the same table, they have to be extremely careful that they don’t get into so-called anti-trustRefers to laws preventing competing companies from anti-competitive behavior. trouble.

Standards organizations have evolved to address this. They are carefully assembled bodies of participants with carefully crafted bylaws and processes for sharing ideas and deciding which ones to standardize. The International Organization for Standardization, or ISO (no, not IOS; that’s not a typo), is probably the biggest example of this.

When someone has an idea, they can bring it to a standards organization and develop a standard without worrying that they’re going to get into legal trouble. At the same time, with well-known standards bodiesA group of companies getting together in a manner consistent with anti-trust laws to agree on how to do things. Rather than limiting competition, this is intended to foster competition by getting agreement on some basic thing (like wall sockets having 110 V) and then letting companies compete on that basis., the organizations give a kind of official stamp of approval that tells the world that it’s ok – even recommended – to use the standard. And government bodies can require that standards be enforced, especially where they involve safety.

A Fictitious Example for a Well-Known Company

But, particularly in the IoT world, there are protocols that are standard, there are protocols that are kind-of-standard, and there are “closed” protocols. IPThis can mean two things (at least):
• The Internet Protocol. Governs the addresses of sources and destinations on a network (without worrying about what’s in between). Used on Layer 3 of the stack.
• "Intellectual property." This can have lots of meanings, but, in the computer-chip world, it refers to parts of a chip design that have been built and optimized by one company, which then sells them to other companies that don’t want to design those blocks themselves. They’re not selling actual chips; they’re selling the design of a block that will be used within a chip.
is a well-recognized standard protocol. But what’s going to happen with, for example, Apple’s HomeKit as a protocol for smart homes? (Not picking on Apple here, since you could swap in any of the other obvious names and have the same conversation.)

This is speculation, but if Apple’s history is any guide, whatever they come up with will need to give them ultimate control over everything. If they take their ideas and give them to a standards committee, the committee is likely to make changes before giving their approval. The standards body will also require that any patents that anyone has on anything in the standard be made available on a “reasonable and non-discriminatory” (RAND) basis.

Let’s look at that last bit for a moment. Let’s say that Apple has some patents on some ideas in their HomeKit. Their goal is going to be to rule the home IoT world, and, in particular, to keep Google and Amazon and anyone else out. (And, of course, Google and Amazon will be doing the same thing in reverse.)

If they keep their technology private, then they can decide who gets to use it and who doesn’t. Whirlpool comes to their door? They’re likely to be able to buy a license. Google? Not so much. They might be turned down outright, or maybe they’ll just be charged 10 times what they charge anyone else in order to discourage them.

Such a high (and, as a reminder, totally made-up by me) fee (or outright denial) might not be considered reasonable, and it certainly wouldn’t be considered non-discriminatory. So if Apple had HomeKit turned into an official standard, then they would have to license Google just like any other company. Which is exactly why some companies decide not to pursue a standard.

Next we’ll look at how standards might be different from things that look like standards.