InterDigital has been recognized by CIOReview Magazine as the recipient of “Top 20 Smart City Solution Companies - 2017,” based on our proprietary methodology, reflecting its position in the industry. This profile has been developed by the CIOReview research and editorial team based on insights from an interview with Jim Nolan, EVP, IoT Solutions.

InterDigital
Creating the Living Network

Jim Nolan, EVP, IoT Solutions

Silverstone Racetrack hosts the UK leg of the Formula One Grand Prix, which saw a footfall of over 400,000 over a period of three days in July 2016. This typically jam-packed venue poses grave challenges to the local transport authorities: spectators arrive at the venue through multiple routes greatly straining traffic management systems. In an amazing feat, four UK local authorities, in conjunction with the UK’s highways agency and a number of other partners, are tackling these type of ‘roadblocks’ using the oneTRANSPORT initiative.

The overall premise is an intelligent transport data exchange that aggregates multiple data streams in an effort to better understand and optimize both traffic and user experience around it. Various sources of data include the volume of traffic, the speed of cars, parking lot occupancy, and signals from the entry/exit gates. The consolidated approach gives authorities the power to more efficiently manage and route the traffic, with real-time insights into the matrix. The backbone platform powering the oneTRANSPORT initiative is provided by InterDigital. “This is where our value proposition comes in—our ability to integrate, aggregate, and federate data from disparate sources, and make that data available to different application types that perform different functions,” says Jim Nolan, Executive Vice President, IoT Solutions at InterDigital.

InterDigital’s unique positioning as an expert in consolidating sporadic data points into a single environment has been an anchor point to the oneTRANSPORT initiative for almost two years now. InterDigital’s platform brought together close to 300 data sources containing at least 20 unique traffic data types and integrated them into a single platform accessible via a unified web interface. “Although individual IoT implementations may render some immediate benefits, cities simply accumulate complexities from multiple systems and lose the value in terms of data and insights— essentially the ‘bigger picture’—which can drive decisions in management, control, and usage of the assets,” says Nolan. “When we talk to new cities, they also find comfort in our ability to arrange discussions with local authorities who have gone through similar growing pains,” adds Vanja Subotic, Director of Product Management, IoT Solutions at InterDigital, “it is that experience, systems knowledge, and advisory aspects of deployments that make us stand out.”

The universal standards we work with overcome major drawbacks of proprietary technology: vendor lock-ins and lack of interoperability

While working toward the creation of smart cities, integration of new IoT systems with traditional legacy systems is another major agenda for government authorities. The future-proof architecture of InterDigital’s offering implies that the users can evolve their solutions. As Nolan explains, “Our scalable architecture allows integration of various systems and applications. Our standards-based approach works to overcome major drawbacks of proprietary technologies: vendor lock-ins and lack of interoperability.”

InterDigital couples this level of scalability with end-to-end solutions developed in collaboration with partners. For example, Nolan believes that security is a pervasive requirement. InterDigital’s solutions are designed with this in mind, but also coupled with strong security offerings from best-in-breed partners.

Apart from providing asset management efficiency for cities and enhanced quality of living for its residents, InterDigital’s proficiency drives another natural evolution for their clients: the concept of a data marketplace. InterDigital is currently working to enable counties to monetize their data by allowing multiple parties to both contribute and consume data. “The county, through a marketplace concept, can not only have their data protected and managed, but also sell that data to innovative application developers and other benefactors and get a revenue share,” summarizes Nolan.

With a strong mix of highly-educated research and development staff who constantly ideate, along with a team of world-class developers who roll up their sleeves to implement these ideas, InterDigital is, in fact, taking their vision of the “Living Network” to reality.

InterDigital

InterDigital Announces Financial Results for Third Quarter 2023

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

New License Agreements Drive 22% Increase In YoY Revenue; 116% Increase In YoY Net Income

WILMINGTON, -- InterDigital, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDCC), a mobile and video technology research and development company, today announced results for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

"We delivered robust revenue growth in both the smartphone and CE and IoT markets, and upside to our financial targets in the third quarter driven by strong licensing activity, including an agreement with Lenovo for our HEVC video patents," commented Liren Chen, President and CEO, InterDigital. "This agreement highlights our progress in realizing value from our video compression IP, demonstrating that we have multiple avenues for driving growth across the business. With momentum across licensing, innovation and industry leadership, we believe the company has never been in a stronger position."

Third Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights, as compared to Third Quarter 2022:

GAAP

• Total revenue was $140.1 million and increased 22% primarily due to catch-up revenues from two new patent license agreements signed in third quarter 2023.

• Smartphone revenue was $104.3 million and increased 19%, and CE, IoT/Auto revenue was $35.4 million and increased 30%.

• Recurring revenue was $104.5 million and increased 3%.

• Operating expenses were $86.5 million and increased 4%, primarily driven by intellectual property enforcement.

• Net income1 was $47.9 million and increased 116%; net income margin2 was 34%.

• Diluted earnings per share1 was $1.72 and increased 132%.

Non-GAAP

• Adjusted EBITDA2 was $83.5 million and increased 48%, primarily due to higher catch-up revenues; Adjusted EBITDA margin2 was 60%.

• Non-GAAP net income3 was $57.7 million and increased 63%.

• Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share3 was $2.13 and increased 81%.

Return of Capital to Shareholders

• During the third quarter 2023, the Company returned $66.1 million to shareholders, including $9.3 million, or $0.35 per share, of cash dividends paid and $56.9 million through the repurchase of 0.7 million shares of common stock.

• We announced an increase to the quarterly cash dividend from $0.35 to $0.40 per share, beginning with the dividend paid in the fourth quarter 2023.

Recent Business Highlights

• Licensing: We signed new license agreements covering our HEVC video compression technology with Lenovo for smartphones and consumer devices such as PCs, and Humax for set top boxes.

We joined the Avanci 5G automotive pool as a founding member.

Convida Wireless, our joint venture with Sony focused on IoT and cloud services innovation, appointed a President and Chief Licensing Officer.

• Research & Development: In Q3 we filed the highest number of new invention filings ever in a quarter and we are on track for a record year.

Our industry leadership in cellular standards was highlighted by the election of one of our senior wireless standards engineers to chair the RAN2 working group within 3GPP, the standards body that leads the development of 5G and future 6G standards.

• Patent Portfolio: As a result of our innovation momentum our patent portfolio passed 30,000 granted patents and pending applications.

LexisNexis recently recognized InterDigital's 5G patent portfolio as one of the top five 5G portfolios in the world.

InterDigital appoints Ken Kaskoun as Chief Growth Officer

Thursday, February 15, 2024

WILMINGTON, -- InterDigital, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDCC), a mobile, video and AI technology research and development company, today announced that Ken Kaskoun has been appointed as the company’s Chief Growth Officer, reporting to Liren Chen, President and Chief Executive Officer of InterDigital.

An engineer and lawyer by background and an experienced inventor, Ken joins from SomaLogic, a life sciences company, where he was Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development.

“Ken’s experience in the development of long-term growth strategies for technology research and licensing companies makes him an excellent fit as InterDigital’s Chief Growth Officer,” commented Liren Chen, President and Chief Executive Officer of InterDigital. “With InterDigital’s strong financial performance, our licensing momentum, and our focus on growth in areas such as video and cloud services, we are ideally positioned to capitalize on new prospects and deliver even greater shareholder value.”

“I am delighted to join InterDigital as Chief Growth Officer at such an exciting time in the company’s development,” Ken Kaskoun said. “InterDigital’s recent trajectory and technological prowess in wireless, video and AI offer an excellent platform to drive growth from existing programs and from greenfield opportunities.”

Prior to SomaLogic, Ken spent 15 years at Qualcomm in various IP-related roles, most recently as Vice President of the Strategy and Analysis team in Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL).

Ken has a BSEE from Old Dominion University, a JD from the University of San Diego, and is a member of the State Bar of California. He is the inventor of more than 30 granted patents and pending applications.

At MWC, InterDigital to Showcase Innovation Empowering Connected Experiences ‘At Work, At Rest, and At Play’

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

InterDigital will demonstrate and lead a presentation on beyond 5G, immersive, and streaming technologies empowering connected experiences for consumers and enterprise

WILMINGTON, Del.,-- As the boundaries between physical, digital, and virtual worlds are increasingly blurred, InterDigital innovation in wireless, video, and AI plays an important role in empowering new network capabilities and seamless connected experiences. At Mobile World Congress 2024, InterDigital, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDCC), a mobile, video and AI technology research and development company, will showcase the depth and breadth of their innovation impact, spotlighting a suite of technologies that empower an array of connected experiences at work, at rest, and at play.

Located at Hall 7 Stand 7B31, InterDigital will showcase cutting-edge research and industry collaborations that unlock new network capabilities and user experiences, placing a spotlight on the emerging 5G Advanced and 6G potential for the integration of sensing data, state-of-the-art streaming solutions that deliver the highest quality video content while mitigating energy consumption, exciting immersive developments and haptic partnerships that enhance streaming video experiences, and more.

“InterDigital innovation creates value through the tools we create and through the experiences they enable,” said Rajesh Pankaj, EVP and CTO at InterDigital. “We are undergoing a paradigm shift from 5G to 6G and 2D to 3D video, so delivering a high-quality connected experience will be the most important factor for consumers and enterprises. At MWC, we’re excited to showcase our innovation, expertise, and industry partnerships that are enabling even more seamless immersion in diverse connected environments.”

InterDigital Innovation: Empowering Connected Experiences At Work, At Rest, and At Play

At Work: Sensing-Enabled 6G Mobile Networks

• At MWC, InterDigital will demonstrate a connected factory environment that uses InterDigital’s sensing and communication technology to retrieve and send real-time information from network and device sensors to enable the seamless augmented experience of remotely controlling an autonomous vehicle.

• Identified as an early 6G building block, integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) enables mobile networks to provide information about objects in proximity to mobile devices and base stations to applications and service providers to enhance the end user experience.

• InterDigital’s demonstration will display how the integrated communication between device and network sensors can empower applications and end users to utilize sensing results to remotely and seamlessly navigate environments.

At Rest: End-to-End VVC Encoding of Energy Aware HDR Content

• InterDigital will also emulate the connected living room of an environmentally conscious home that leverages InterDigital solutions and AI expertise to not only empower streaming of the highest quality content but also mitigate the energy impact of viewing.

• InterDigital is a champion of the state-of-the-art video codec VVC, a critical collaborator alongside Philips in the development of Advanced HDR streaming solutions, and a pioneering contributor to energy aware media standard initiatives and local light adaptation solutions like Pixel Value Reduction.

• In addition to showcasing the end-to-end VVC encoding of energy-aware HDR content, the demo will also apply InterDigital’s AI expertise to our Pixel Value Reduction solution to achieve unperceivable reductions in pixel luminance that support energy efficient media delivery and consumption.

At Play: Haptic-Enhanced Immersive Video Streaming

• Citing the popularity of eSports, InterDigital will showcase a connected gaming environment that enables viewers to experience the tactile sensation of streamed, live gameplay through InterDigital contributions to MPEG immersive and haptics standards and Razer Sensa HD haptic devices powered by Interhaptics.

• InterDigital is a long-time contributor to MPEG Immersive Standards, including Scene Description, V3C codecs alongside partner Philips, and newer haptics codecs to enable seamless, immersive experiences.

• By streaming a connected gaming experience over large-scale OTT mobile networks enhanced by the latest MPEG immersive and haptics codecs, InterDigital’s demo will enable viewers to experience the tactile sensation of gameplay, whether enhanced by haptic devices in live game play or integrated into pre-recorded gaming environments experienced through headsets and 2D screens.

Elsewhere at MWC, InterDigital will lead stage presentations and showcase at partner booths to further amplify the impact of our research and innovation.

• On Stage B, InterDigital’s Valerie Allie, Video Solutions Lead, will deliver a presentation on innovations enabling haptic-enhanced and immersive streaming experiences on the Ink, Wear, Touch: Evolution of Personal Touch session on Tuesday, February 27 at 13:15. Learn more here.

• At the Broadpeak booth located at CS299 in Congress Square, InterDigital and Broadpeak will showcase their collaboration on MPEG V3C immersive content distribution over a content delivery network.

• At the Keysight booth located at Hall 5 Stand 5E12, InterDigital and Keysight will together showcase a 144 GHz testbed utilizing an AI-enabled air interface. The partners will show how AI channel estimators can be trained, added to a 6G physical layer, and validated with over-the-air hardware.

• As part of the O-RAN Alliance Summit at MWC, located at Partner Theatre 5, Hall 8.0, Doug Castor, InterDigital’s Head of Wireless Research and Vice Chair of the Next G Alliance Roadmap Working Group will participate in a panel discussion exploring Industry Body Alignment on future wireless and 6G roadmaps on Wednesday, February 28 at 9:20. Learn more here.

Top 20 Smart City Solution Companies - 2017

Company
InterDigital

Management
Jim Nolan, EVP, IoT Solutions and Vanja Subotic, Director of Product Management, IoT Solutions

Description
Aggregates disparate IoT systems and data in smart city setups providing a single platform for management of data assets for cities

InterDigital Creating the Living Network