This is a silent revolution that is taking place among the Chipset manufacturers, Infrastructure Vendors and operators that will have far reaching consequences for adaptation of efficient technologies and help re-use the spectrum.

SDR Ecosystem

ZTE was one of the first vendors to launch a SDR base station that can be upgraded to LTE through a baseband add-on and a software upgrade. Several other vendors have followed and are now launching – or have already launched – SDR base stations. The form of SDR implementation in base stations varies and each vendor may have chosen a different level of commitment for software reconfigurability. ZTE and Huawei are the only vendors that support dual mode GSM/UMTS operation in their base stations, ZTE having released the platform first. However, dual mode SDR deployments have been limited to date and are now slowly entering the market.

M2M – Machine-to-Machine

M2M or Machine-to-machine communications is the next biggest boom for the wireless operators. There are now more than five billion connections worldwide. In many regions, penetration exceeds 100%, where there is more than one connection per person in the country, and for operators to get more net adds and to grow they have to look towards this segment. One of my first experiences was deploying SCADA devices in the Gulf of Mexico on Oil Platforms which sent readings to the control centers via GPRS/EDGE networks. But things have changed from then to now, where Air Interface has become more robust and the ‘data pipe’ has become fatter and more self sustaining. And On-Star devices on vehicles have become standard, for driver safety and tracking.

M2M has been around for a while but the cost, performance breakthroughs have come closer to reality, and the standards have been formalized. With a mobile voice market close to saturation in the all over the world, many operators are searching for new sources of revenue.

 

Key Elements of M2M Architecture

M2M Devices

A device capable of replying to requests for data contained within those devices or capable of transmitting data contained within those devices autonomously.

M2M Area Network

Provides connectivity between M2M Devices and M2M Gateways. Examples of M2M Area Networks include: Personal Area Network technologies such as IEEE 802.15, SRD, UWB, Zigbee, Bluetooth, etc or local networks such as PLC, M-BUS, Wireless M-BUS.

M2M Gateways

Use M2M Capabilities to ensure M2M Devices inter working and interconnection to the communications network.

M2M Communications Networks

Communications between the M2M Gateway(s) and M2M application (server). Can be further broken down into Access, Transport and Core networks. Examples include (but are not limited to): xDSL, PLC, satellite, LTE, GERAN, UTRAN, eUTRAN, W-LAN and WiMAX.

M2M Applications (Server)

Contains the middleware layer where data goes through various application services and is used by the specific business-processing engines. A software agent or process by which the data can be analyzed, reported, and acted upon.

All standards organizations led by ETSI are working towards developing common architecture for M2M, as Multitude of technical solutions and dispersed standardization activities result in the slow development of the M2M ecosystem.



Game changers

The leaders in M2M communications in the US market have been the traditionally the GERAN carriers – T-Mobile and AT&T, but Clearwire too has been playing the catching up game with WiMAX nationwide deployments.  And Verizon and Sprint are also working with vendors for device certification and building middleware platforms for M2M services with platform vendors like Sierra Wireless to integrate server and access-network resources. This space shall also be leveraged by the utility power and water companies along with healthcare monitoring service providers. KPN (KPN) a Dutch carrier is using CDMA450 for M2M and has embraced the technology as it pushes heavily into the machine-to-machine space.

Overall all these trends shall make wireless services a part of life, just like how we cannot imagine living without a cell phone in this connected world, so will these three trends influence the way of life in the few years.

Here is my Blogpost on this - http://wp.me/pWEV6-1P