This layer is composed of various network devices that are used to provide Internet connectivity between devices and to the cloud or servers that are part of the IoT ecosystem. These devices can include gateways, routers, hubs, and switches. This layer can include two types of communication.

First there is the horizontal means of communication, which includes radio, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, LAN, Zigbee, and PAN and can be used to provide communication between IoT devices. Second, we have communication to the next layer, which is usually through the internet and provides communication between machines and people or other upper layers. The first layer can optionally be included in the device layer as it physically is residing on the device layer where devices can communicate with each other at the same layer.