Comm. Smart Cities and IoT supplement Smart Cities and IoT | Seite 18

focal point
connections as a percentage of the total will increase from 26 per cent
in 2014 to more than half, at 54 per cent, by 2019, growing 3.3-fold
during the forecast period.
This year, Cisco also included Low Power Wide Area (LPWA)
connections in its analysis. This wireless network connectivity is meant
specifically for M2M modules that require low bandwidth and wide
geographic coverage, with M2M uptake being viewed as the engine
room for the widespread development and uptake of IoT.
M2M communication is needed to support IoT and is defined as
data communication among devices without the need for human
interaction. This may be data communication between devices and a
server, or device-to-device either directly or over a network. Examples
of M2M services include security, tracking, payment, smart grid, and
remote maintenance/monitoring.
Cellular technologies are set to evolve in a number of specific ways
to support IoT, including supporting increased volumes of low cost
connected devices; extending battery life substantially to as much as
10 years in the case of some types of devices; and enhancing coverage.

Aji Ed, chief technology officer for Nokia Networks in the Middle
East and Africa says there are already a number of sectors in the
region including the automotive industry in which the IoT vision is
further along in its evolution with strong collaboration already in
existence between network operators and auto makers.
While other sectors such as healthcare; utilities and public services;
and retail also stand to benefit significantly from a connected environment, the integration of the various devices, sensors, and networks is
much more complex and thus will take longer to come together.
“The challenges that IoT bring to the network are different to
traditional cellular networks,” says Ed. “A traditional notion is to be concerned about end-user throughput, but in the IoT environment factors
including the ultra-low cost of devices (under US$5); battery life; low
latency of less than a millisecond; and much wider coverage including
in-building, come into greater focus.”
As such, technology suppliers are rallying around the standardisation of LTE-M2M (machine-to-machine), or LTE-M, which will likely see
commercialised features coming to market in the 2016/2017 timeframe.

In order to support the further development of IoT, cellular
technologies need to evolve in a number of specific ways including
supporting increased volumes of low cost connected devices;
extending battery life substantially to as much as 10 years in the
case of some types of devices; and enhancing coverage

There are already a number of sectors in the MEA region
including the automotive industry in which the IoT vision is
further along in its evolution with strong collaboration already
in existence between network operators and auto makers

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