Did you know that the worldwide Internet of Things (IoT) market will exceed $3 trillion by 2020 and incorporate more than 30 billion devices?

There’s no doubt that consumers are increasing their adoption of IoT devices to help increase efficiencies and shave costs. In fact, 30 percent of consumers already own or plan to purchase an in-home IoT device in the next two years, according to research from the Acuity Group. From high-tech refrigerators to smart thermostats, connected devices are becoming ubiquitous and have opened up a new revenue stream for broadband providers—especially when it comes to at-home use cases—from which they can capitalize.

Traditionally, broadband providers generate revenue from delivering and managing Internet connectivity, telephony and home entertainment. With the emergence of over-the-top (OTT) services, however, they have had to work harder to maintain customer loyalty and generate revenue—which is where the IoT comes into play.

With the Internet of Things, broadband providers can expand their traditional roles and become more established presences in their consumers’ homes by providing the necessary infrastructure to facilitate all connectivity and management of IoT devices. In other words, they can provide consumers a platform to ensure all devices in the home work seamlessly together.

In order for broadband providers to provide this type of infrastructure, however, they must construct new ecosystems that are capable of handling large volumes of data and transmission from IoT devices as well as effectively manage a variety of billing systems.

Broadband providers finally have a way to differentiate themselves from OTT providers and generate new revenue by becoming the gatekeeper to the home.