Differences in Technical Approval Situations in Thailand and Vietnam: The Reality of IoT and Cloud Utilization

When dealing with IoT devices in Japan, the "Technical Approval Mark" is a given. Devices that use wireless communication such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth cannot be sold or used unless they are certified under the Radio Law.

So, what about overseas? 

In fact, Thailand and Vietnam also have similar certification systems.

However, laws and practices vary from country to country, so a device certified in Thailand may not be usable in Vietnam, and vice versa.

Another thing to be aware of is that there are cases where equipment that has not obtained technical conformity certification is sold locally without any warning labels. Using such products carelessly can lead to illegal transmissions and other problems. We recommend purchasing from a reputable distributor or vendor.

A common case locally is, "I want to use IoT sensors sold in Japan in factories in Thailand or Vietnam." However, if they are not certified in each country, they may be stopped at the time of import or may not be able to be used on-site.

Be especially careful with devices equipped with LoRa or Wi-Fi. Recently, there has been an increase in devices that can be inserted with a SIM card, but the authorities are most concerned about illegal 4G/5G transmissions, so be sure to check the authentication.

Recently, there has been an increase in cases where Japanese manufacturers work with local companies to invest in everything from technical conformity applications to marketing approval. However, for companies using wireless communications, obtaining local certification takes time and money, so the smoothest way is to procure certified devices from local vendors.

Once the IoT device passes authentication, it securely exchanges data with the cloud. 

By using AWS IoT Core on AWS, you can easily complete the entire process from receiving data from devices to storing it and utilizing it. 

■ Simple configuration image

• IoT device → Data transmission (MQTT)

  • Sensor values ​​and event information are sent to the cloud using a lightweight, energy-efficient protocol. TLS communication is encrypted, and only authenticated devices can connect.

• AWS IoT Core → Device authentication and routing

  • Each device is authenticated using a certificate assigned to it, and only authorized messages are received. The received data can be automatically distributed to the required services, such as Amazon S3, DynamoDB, or Lambda, using the IoT Rules Engine.

• Data storage → Amazon S3 / DynamoDB

  • Amazon S3: Used for accumulating sensor data, long-term storage, and as input to the analysis platform.

  • DynamoDB: Ideal for real-time processing and state management, where low-latency reads and writes are required.

• Data processing → AWS Lambda / Amazon Kinesis

  • Data triggered via the rule engine can be processed and shaped serverlessly, and batch or stream processing can be performed as needed.

• Visualization/Analysis → QuickSight / Athena

  • By analyzing data stored in Amazon S3 with Athena and creating a dashboard with QuickSight, it becomes easier to visualize equipment status and analyze trends.

• Security → IAM / IoT policy

  • You can define policies for each connecting device and restrict the topics that can be sent and received to the minimum. You can also centralize management such as certificate rotation during operation.

Serverworks and IIJ support cloud adoption, including the construction and operation design of these IoT infrastructures (device authentication, routing, log management, and security operations).

My Feelings, Then and Now

When considering the introduction of IoT and cloud computing, it's easy to forget not only the technology but also compliance with the Radio Law. Technical conformity is commonplace in Japan, but it's just as important overseas. Beyond that is the cloud infrastructure that supports data transmission, storage, and analysis. Mastering both authentication and cloud computing will be the key to successfully utilizing IoT in Southeast Asia.