The Connectivity Standards Alliance who are looking to charge brands millions of dollars to get access to their Matter Logo are facing a backlash in particular from Australian Companies who manufacture home automation products.
Currently there is only a few products that are able to be certified by the Connectivity Standards Alliance but that has not stopped them asking organisations such as Melbourne based Brilliant the manufacturer of lighting automation and security products US$12,000 or $17,000 Australia per PID per year, with the fee renewable every year.
A PID is a group of products such as automated light bulbs up to four, but if a Company wants to include a smart switch, smart power point, or security cameras as Matter certified, they have to pay an additional A$US17,000 which several Companies who have approached ChannelNews claim is “Not worth it” with many simply going to avoid paying the fee to get access to the Matter logo.
“At today’s exchange rate this equates to tens of thousands if you have an extensive product range” said one manufacturer.
A month after the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) finalised Matter version 1.0 it’s been revealed that only a limited number of products will be Matter certified because the certification framework is not ready for several categories.
CSA president Tobin Richardson claims that that since the launch of Matter 1.0 about a month ago, 20 new companies have joined the CSA., with the number growing by the day.
The alliance also boasts that in this timeframe, there are now 190 certifications in progress or finished for new products.
The Matter specs were downloaded over 4,000 times, and the SDK over 2,500 times.
Now as marketing departments weigh up the cost of being Matter certified questions are being asked about the high cost associated with using the Matter logo.
A Major Taiwanese manufacturer said, “Matter will go the same way as Bluetooth, everyone has Bluetooth, but no one is paying a fee to use their logo”.
The CSA claims that it will strive for a bi-annual release cadence, bringing support for new devices, functional updates, and continuous improvements in a reliable schedule, with work on cameras, appliances, and energy management first in line.
The Standard that is already two years late was supposed to be the holy grail that would bring together brands such as Google, Apple, Intel, and Amazon.
Amazon recently announced that they will deliver Matter over Wi-Fi this year and bring the standard to 17 Echo devices as well as its plugs, switches, and bulbs.
Next year, the company plans to bring Matter over Thread and add the standard to more Echo devices and other device types.
In the near term, CSA claims that they want to focus on stability and creating a great experience, and above all make sure that everything runs smoothly after consumers buy a Matter certified product.
Matter was first conceptualized as Project CHIP in 2019. Involved companies realized that they hit roadblocks with their disparate systems and hope that Matter will solve the issue for them.
Even then, Matter was hit by delay after delay.
The body behind it was forced to move the launch from 2021 to 2022.
Now they are looking to recover costs with large licence fees for use of the Matter logo.
Several observers have said that it will take taking three years from idea to execution of Matter products across multiple categories.
The CSA claims that Matter will make it possible to freely control devices with whichever platform you prefer.
The CSA hammered this message during their recent presentation which excluded Australian media Companies with only US media invited.
According to CSA documentation the alliance is building its system on top of Wi-Fi, eliminating the need for systems such as the overpriced Control 4.
It also relies on an optional IP-based “Thread” mesh networking standard and Bluetooth Low Energy, though the latter is only meant as an easy option to set up devices.
The whole standard is open-source and lives on GitHub.
Matter also works completely offline which means that if the likes of NBN ISP has issues, you can still control your smart home.
The CSA initially claimed that the Matter standard was open source and royalty-free, making it easy for companies to join in on the system and get their products up to speed.
What was not outlined was the high cost of licence fees to use the Matter logo.
It’s only now that Companies looking to move to
Despite the big launch, Matter is still in its early stages and only works with a limited set of devices for now.
You can use Matter controllers and apps to control your smart lights, plugs and certain outlets with one key omission being security cameras according to local sources with several other key categories still waiting for clarification on the availability of software for their category.
According to alliance management they are currently working on expanding both the feature set introduced with Matter 1.0 for devices and the supported device types.
Tuya whose technology is used by the likes of Laser Corporation and Brilliant have announced that it has three Matter certificates finished.
It also made its own app ready for Matter, allowing users to control other Matter devices with its app.
