Telematics
capital investment, and that has meant these systems have been out of the reach of most SMEs. Network management is a huge issue for
the development of telematics over M2M mo- bile networks, and one of the aspects that has made M2M a real-world solution as a bearer is the high accuracy now possible in billing. T is is crucial when transmitting very small levels of data in high volume. Poorly calculated billing, resulting from
The future of telematics is right now
The arrival of ‘smart’ machine to machine (M2M) communications is adjusting the nature of how telematics works, across industry, enterprise and the consumer landscape. Nigel Chadwick, a director of the Mobile Data Association, explains
ternet of T ings, and the connected consumer’. And, true enough, they all form part of the mix, but they barely scratch the surface of what is be- ing accomplished already and where the technol- ogy is taking us next. M2M embraces a delivery mechanism which goes against the current thinking of most mobile operators. M2M mobile networks typically off er dedicated support for high volumes of commu- nication, with low levels of data sent. For con-
W
Nigel Chadwick is Director of Machine to Machine (M2M) and Telematics for the Mobile Data Association (MDA). He is also a founding director of Stream Communications, a mobile network operator focusing on M2M.
www.themda.org www.stream-communications.com
26
hen talk turns to M2M, it is not uncommon for people to nod sage- ly and mutter ‘smart metering, In-
sumer mobile operators, that equates to lower margins. T is is one reason why M2M has his- torically either been slow to be fully adopted, or poorly implemented by many mobile operators throughout Europe.
Also consider that most operator network
infrastructure has been designed with the con- sumer in mind. Telematics, however, have totally diff erent requirements: • Firstly, telematics demand a guarantee of con- nection, and the assurance that a data feed will not be bumped off the network if there is undue contention – something that is be- coming more common the wake of the grow- ing popularity of smartphones on consumer networks.
• Secondly, a M2M mobile network could be carrying thousands of devices that require managing. Existing operator support mecha- nisms simply can’t know the specifi cs of each and every device. To date, establishing a com- munications network of telematics devices has required considerable technical resource and
rounding up decimals to whole numbers, would cripple most small companies. For those seeking to install a smart telematics solution, whether SME or large national organizations, this new clarity in billing has been a critical diff erentiator and a driver of service adoption.
Next-generation networks With increasing user demand for higher data rates and quality of service, operators have recog- nized the increased opportunity to take advan- tage of technology that improves the economics of deploying mobile broadband networks. Con- sequently, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the latest standard in mobile network technol- ogy that the operators are embracing. T ere is a concern expressed by some that the
introduction of LTE may see a switch-off of ex- isting GPRS or a ‘refarming’ of the bandwidth, which would have a considerable impact on the current and evolving telematics systems. T e re- ality is there are no roadmaps for other media or bearers in this space, and GPRS, with the abil- ity to roam on to any network, is set to remain a major bearer for SIM card services. T ere are simply too many connected devices operating over GPRS for it to be switched off . It is more likely perhaps that we will see the cannibalization of 3G to drive the roll-out of LTE. For the foreseeable future, the growth of telematics and M2M communications remains secure in terms of mobile network delivery. T is stability has enabled M2M mobile net-
works to leap forward in terms of their cost-ef- fectiveness and the ‘smartness’ of data delivered across them. Networks today have a viability that was not previously present; the issues of lack of synchronization or fears that data had not transferred successfully are now lesser concerns as technology progresses. Today networks are faster, more robust, more secure and, most tell- ing, the cost case is more persuasive.
New playing fi elds T ere is a real sense that organizations need to prove why they are not adopting smart solutions. What we are seeing right now is the cost of de- ployment tumbling to the point where it going to be more costly not to deploy smart systems. T e energy industry is without doubt one of the most highly visible adopters of smart sys-
LAND mobile July 2011
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