IoT (Internet of Things) allows different types of end devices to interconnect and communicate with each other via internet. Cloud platforms are adopted to smarten up operations of these connected devices. IoT communication technologies have been widely used in automotive and transportation, industry, healthcare, energy, and retailing sectors. This report provides an overview of platform technologies and thorough patent data mining results that reflect major vendors' patent deployment status and technology readiness; examines the strategic planning and challenges of leading IoT communication technology developers such as LG, Ericsson, Intel, Qualcomm, and IBM. Also included are the insights about market opportunities of IoT for newcomers.