The CommNet Knowledge Hub
Industrial IoT, AIoT and RTLS move fast. Standards evolve, vendors consolidate, new applications go from pilot to proven in a matter of months. The Knowledge Hub exists to help you stay current — without spending hours filtering noise.
Everything here is written from a practitioner’s perspective: someone who has sold, deployed, and built businesses around these technologies across EMEA and the US for decades. You won’t find vendor press releases repackaged as analysis. You’ll find honest, opinionated, up-to-date intelligence.
Free articles are available to all visitors. Create a free account to unlock the full library — vendor landscapes, market entry guides, whitepapers and the monthly briefing. Client members get additional exclusive research and direct async access to CommNet.
What’s available at each access level
| Content | Visitor | Free account | Client |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology overviews (IoT, AIoT,RTLS) | |||
| Industry use case summaries | |||
| Blog posts and market commentary | |||
| EMEA–US market entry guides (full) | |||
| Vendor landscape maps | |||
| Whitepapers and technical deep-dives | |||
| Curated partner ecosystem guides | |||
| Newsletter: monthly intelligence briefing | |||
| Client-exclusive research and market reports | |||
| Priority access to new content before public release | |||
| Direct Q&A with CommNet (async, monthly) |
The Knowledge Hub has three access levels. Most content is available free with a registered account. Client members — companies engaged with CommNet on a retainer or project basis — get access to exclusive research and a monthly async Q&A.
Technology library
IoT · AIoT · RTLS · RTLS · Standards
Foundational and advanced content on the technologies that underpin CommNet’s work. Written for buyers, evaluators and technology leaders not engineers.
What is IoT? A practical guide for industrial buyers
Not the hype version. A clear explanation of what industrial IoT actually means, how it works, and what it takes to deploy it successfully.
AIoT: when artificial intelligence meets connected sensors
What separates AIoT from IoT, where the real value lies, and which industrial applications are mature enough to deploy today.
RTLS in 2025: active vs passive, HF vs UHF — which is right for your application?
A decision-oriented guide to RTLS technology selection. Includes a comparison matrix across read range, data rate, tag cost and environmental suitability.
RTLS buyer's guide: technology options, vendor landscape and total cost of ownership
UWB, BLE, Wi-Fi, RTLS — how they compare for real-time location, and what the full cost of a deployment actually looks like.
Industrial IoT standards map: what your procurement team needs to know
OPC-UA, MQTT, AMQP, SECS/GEM, MTConnect — the protocols and standards that govern IoT integration in industrial environments.
Evaluating IoT platforms: a checklist for technology buyers
Sixteen questions to ask any IoT platform vendor before you sign. Written for procurement teams and technical evaluators in industrial companies.
EMEA – US market intelligence
Market entry · Channel strategy · Regional guides
Cross-border expansion is the core of what CommNet does. This section captures the market knowledge that takes years to accumulate — distilled into guides you can use before you commit budget to a new geography.
Entering EMEA: what US technology companies get wrong
The five most common mistakes US IoT and RTLS vendors make when entering European markets — and how to avoid them.
Entering the US market: a practical guide for European technology companies
Go-to-market structure, channel options, pricing localisation, and the cultural differences that catch European vendors off guard.
The EMEA channel partner landscape for industrial IoT and RTLS
Who the relevant systems integrators, VARs and distributors are across Germany, UK, Nordics, Benelux and Southern Europe. Updated annually.
Germany as a gateway to EMEA industrial markets
Why Germany is still the most important first market for industrial technology companies entering Europe — and how to approach the buying process.
Industry insights
Aviation · Manufacturing · Mining · Logistics · Semiconductors
Application-specific content for CommNet's core verticals. Each article goes beyond the technology to cover the procurement environment, the key vendors, the ROI evidence, and the practical realities of deployment in that industry.
RTLS in aviation ground operations: a deployment guide
From baggage handling to GSE tracking — how airports and ground handlers are using RTLS, what the ROI looks like, and who the leading vendors are.
Predictive maintenance in heavy manufacturing: separating hype from deployable reality
What AIoT-driven predictive maintenance can and cannot do in steel, foundry and heavy equipment environments today.
Personnel tracking in underground mining: technology options and regulatory context
A comparison of UWB, active RTLS and leaky feeder approaches to underground positioning, with reference to current safety regulations in key mining jurisdictions.
Wafer tracking in semiconductor fabs: RTLS standards, vendor landscape and integration considerations
How HF RTLS is used to track wafer lots and FOUPs in semiconductor manufacturing, and what SEMI standards govern the integration.
The CommNet monthly briefing
Once a month, a short email covering what's worth knowing in industrial IoT, AIoT and RTLS — from a practitioner who reads the market every day.
⮞ Published on the first Tuesday of every month
⮞ Typical read time: 4–6 minutes
⮞ Free with a Knowledge Hub account
⮞ Unsubscribe any time — one click
New deployments worth noting, vendor moves, standards updates, and the occasional sharp take on where the industry is heading.
No filler. No vendor sponsorship. Never sold to a third party.
Can't find what you're looking for?
The Knowledge Hub is built around what CommNet's clients and readers actually need — not an editorial calendar built six months in advance. If there's a topic, technology, market or application you want covered, say so. Content requests from registered users are read personally and shape what gets written next.