The Future of Cable Business Services -- machineQ, the Comcast-owned industrial IoT company, has been focusing its initial efforts within Comcast's traditional footprint, but the technology and platform that machineQ has built has the potential to branch out much further.

It's technically possible for machineQ to offer service in other parts of the country, and perhaps to other markets around the globe.

"One of the things we really like about this opportunity, this platform, is that we can go virtually anywhere," John Jason Brzozowski, head of engineering and fellow at Comcast's machineQ, said here Thursday during a keynote session that provided an update on the company's efforts. "We're effectively IoT over-the-top."

One of those reasons is machineQ's technology and networking protocol of choice, LoRaWAN, a low-power, wide area network specification. machineQ's gateways, meanwhile, can use a variety of backhaul options, including Ethernet, WiFi, and even cellular.

Brzozowski noted that there are dedicated ISM bands -- used by LoRaWAN and generally tapped into for industrial, scientific and medical purposes -- present in multiple parts of the globe, including North America, South America, Europe and parts of the Asia-Pacific, though the frequencies used by those bands tend to vary by region.