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Operators are broadening their horizons and enabling the IoT to flourish

Mobile is already at the heart of the IoT, writes Graham Trickey, the head of the Connected Living programme at the GSMA. Each new device we connect to our own network, be it a home appliance, smart watch or thermostat, can be controlled by a smartphone. Put simply, mobile is the hub for which all other consumer-based connected devices depend on.

In the home, these devices can of course be connected via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. However, devices that depend on wide-area coverage – typically M2M, such as connected cars, fleet tracking equipment or agricultural machines, need to be connected via the mobile network.

Providing wide area connectivity for M2M is widely regarded as a significant opportunity for mobile network operators to create new revenue streams in the IoT. As such, operators have been working closely with the GSMA’s Connected Living programme on a series of initiatives, most notably the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification, which provides a single, global mechanism for the management of M2M connections and enables over the air profile swapping from one operator to another.

 

The GSMA Embedded SIM Specification has advantages for all players in the IoT ecosystem; it simplifies the process of connecting devices, thereby driving competition, reduces fragmentation in the marketplace and helps the IoT to scale. To date, the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification has been backed by a range of OEMs, operators and leading M2M alliances.

This in effect, helps us to understand the role of mobile beyond device management and connectivity for its own sake – mobile, by virtue of operating in myriad markets and across a range of sectors, is able to unite stakeholders in the entire ecosystem. Operators have developed long, trusting relationships with consumers and businesses across the globe. It is therefore no surprise that they are in a prime position to shape the IoT and act as one of its principal innovators.

And this is just the beginning of the journey. As the IoT matures it is becoming apparent that there are a range of connectivity requirements. To this end, one of next key initiatives being developed by operators and the GSMA is for Low Power, Wide Area (LPWA) solutions.

In the case of LPWA, network operators can manage remote low powered applications such as smart metering, smart parking, asset tracking, building automation sensors or street signage that require the transfer lower amounts of data to an IoT platform management. Network operators are best placed to manage a full range of IoT solutions through a range of radio networks and are able to deliver them reliably through licensed spectrum.

Operators’ commitment to LPWA is more than just a desire to innovate and increase the scope of their own business – it is a message to all those in the IoT, that mobile technology can support a potentially limitless amount of connected devices, and will be used to the fullest extent in enabling the IoT to flourish.

The author, Graham Trickey is head of the Connected Living Programme at the GSMA. He works closely with network operators and the mobile ecosystem to help accelerate the delivery of new connected devices and services in the Machine-to-machine (M2M) market. He oversees a number of industry focused initiatives designed to support the growth of M2M in the immediate future and the Internet of Things (IoT) in the longer term.

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