3. Internet of Things to receive government backing

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

China will provide funding for special programs to research, develop, demonstrate and standardize the Internet of Things (IoT), a network of real objects connected to the Internet, according to joint announcement by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Ministry of Finance. Still in its preliminary stages, IoT hopes to take advantage of cheap microchips and sensors to link everything from shirts to milk jugs up to smart networks that could improve logistics and much more. Currently, high costs and technological barriers have kept IoT from expanding commercially. Beijing-based IT consultancy CCIDConsulting.com estimated in March that China’s IoT market – including products such as radio-frequency identification chips, infrared sensors, global positioning systems, and laser scanners – reached 200 billion yuan in 2010. Chinese government support will undoubtedly accelerate the industry’s development, which when mature could become a significant component of China’s IT sector. CCID Consulting forecasts the industry will grow to 750 billion yuan by 2015.