, , ... OMG! What G is Right for M2M? Introduction • All the operators are talking 4G LTE now – should I start using 4G Every M2M deployment has four things LTE? in common: • If I pick a 2G or 3G technology, what is its longevity? 1. M2M applications need long- range communications capability. Unfortunately, there aren’t any simple 2. The data gathered by remote and easy answers, so let’s dig in. devices is sent to a system, person or other machine automatically. 3. Managers must be able to control Which G is Right for M2M? and manage a device from far The answer is: It depends! away. The choice depends on a number 4. It needs a network and services of factors. In the following pages, for long-range communication. we will review these factors to help you make the best decision on the Over the years, connectivity has been cellular technology to use for an M2M accomplished with many technologies, application deployment. beginning with phone lines and signals and later, satellite and cellular. The overwhelmingly logical choice M2M vs. Traditional for a wide-area network (“WAN”) for Consumer Cellular M2M applications, particularly for mobile devices, is cellular data Let’s begin with a discussion of the services. differences between personal and M2M cellular devices and their deployments. If you have chosen cellular for your These comparisons also illuminate M2M application, then the next step some of the many differences between is to select the cellular radio and traditional, consumer cellular operators wireless data service that is right for like AT&T, and Sprint, and an your application. If you have turned on M2M service provider like Aeris, which a television or opened a newspaper in was made for machines and only the last few decades, you have been transports M2M data. barraged with information about speeds for personal Devices handsets. In general, if you have a The cellular handset is simple – relatively smart phone and use your device for speaking, of course! – compared to sending and receiving data, then we M2M devices. Most handsets fall into can all agree that more is better: the a few general categories: some are faster speeds and greater basic cellular phones for making voice provided by 4G LTE is the best choice. calls and sending text messages, and When considering M2M deployments, some are smart phones for sending however, this does necessarily not and receiving data – e-mail and web apply. surfing – in addition to voice calls and text messages. The available cellular technology choices are confusing. You may have M2M devices, on the other hand, are already asked questions like: usually very unique. With the exception of a few self-contained cellular modem • Which cellular technology should products (for example, from MultiTech I select? Systems), every M2M device is usually • What are the 2G and 3G data “designed from scratch” for a specific speeds? purpose. 2 An M2M device generally contains (depending on components are usually encased in material to the specific application): avoid shock and vibration effects. The operating temperature ranges for normal operation may • A cellular radio, called a “Module”. need to be wider than standard handsets, etc. • A processor that runs the program depending on the environment of your application. (“firmware”) for the M2M application. • Volatile and non-volatile memory for the Cellular Applications firmware and data storage. • Sensors and I/O, as needed, for the specific The uses of cellular service fall roughly into two data gathering functionality. categories: “traditional” and “varied.” • Analog-to-Digital and Digital-to-Analog converters, if required. Traditional • Global Positioning System (“GPS”) chips for The major operators like AT&T and Verizon created determining location. their networks for traditional handset wireless • Power conditioning circuits for noisy data applications, like: electrical environments. • Cellular and GPS antenna and power • Handsets for , e-mail, surfing connectors. the web and a few business applications. • Batteries, if required. • Laptops and notebooks with wireless data cards for the same purpose. The size of M2M devices vary: some are as small as a handset, others may be comparable to a tiny Unfortunately for companies that need cellular notebook, or they can be larger than a laptop case. It support for M2M, traditional operators often is important to note that devices installed in mobile adapt consumer technologies and processes applications may require special construction for for more complex M2M applications. Their M2M vibration and environmental issues. Boards and service was not built from the ground up with needs of business and machines in mind. 3 Varied market often. For the vast majority of handset users, their phone registers in M2M applications have a much broader one market and stays registered in that and more complex set of uses, like: market for long periods – days to weeks to months (perhaps never leaving it!). • Tracking trucks on highways for This allows traditional operators in location and dispatch. the US to be remarkably successful, • Sending driver logs to central with deployments that cover markets locations. sufficiently well for their customers • Checking cargo loads in trailers to receive good coverage and good and reporting when they are service. loaded and ready for pickup. • Reporting automobile theft and M2M Devices May Move a Lot tracking them when stolen. • Sending an Automatic Crash Unlike consumer handsets, M2M Notification (“ACN”) when an air- devices may move from market to bag deploys. market quite often. For example, a • Sending fire and burglar alarms long-haul truck may drive through for residences and businesses to many markets in a single day, operating monitoring stations. on dozens of switches, and, often on • Transmitting blood pressure more than one or two operators. The readings to a doctor’s office. trucks may need to send and receive • Reading an electric or gas or data in areas where smaller cellular water meter remotely. operators do not provide coverage, • Reporting a jammed irrigation or where a small carrier may not have system to send out repair a agreement. If the cellular technicians. technology used in that M2M device • Reporting failed heating and is not available in a particular market air-conditioning equipment in or region, then that truck is not able commercial buildings. to send or receive data when in that area. It may need to buffer the data Usually, the data is sent from machines and wait until it is “in coverage” to send (M2M devices) to other machines the information. If the time that the (host systems, databases, etc.) without truck is outside coverage is long, then human intervention. In these M2M the purpose and timeliness of the M2M applications, the firmware is different data may be lost. – the program code, frequency of data transmissions, quantity of data, alarm M2M distribution/operation should be conditions, information encoding broad. An M2M network operator must methods, retry algorithms on failures, ensure that data can be transmitted etc. are usually different in each device. across a country or continent and even in remote areas. Most traditional, Network Coverage consumer handset operators cannot guarantee such coverage. For example, Personal Handsets Don’t consider a deployment within a Roam Much major city, such as a towing company Traditional operators have enabled dispatch system. They can use 4G their consumers to roam freely and cellular technology if it is available make voice and data calls throughout (and needed for their application). A their coverage areas, as well as in long-haul trucking company, however, other carrier markets through roaming simply cannot use 4G service today agreements. Yet, most handset users because it is not available in many of do not actually roam outside their home the markets or highways in which their trucks operate. 4 Longevity demonstrate why companies should put away their pre-conceived notions Handsets are “turned over” frequently. about network speeds and consider The traditional consumer cellular the optimal network characteristics for industry has created an expectation their M2M deployment for today and that customers will replace their a decade from today. Let us now turn cellular handsets every couple years. our attention to the “G’s.” This rapid turn-over fuels the rapid development of new technologies and new handsets. Operators and Picking the Right G customers sign service contracts (for example, when subsidizing the cost of 2G the handset) for two years typically. With all the rapid advancements in Thus, if a carrier wants to discontinue a network speed and , you technology and service, it is possible for may be asking yourself why anyone them to transition their handset users would consider a 2G deployment for in a relatively short time. Customers M2M today. We have all heard about can buy new devices easily and begin AT&T’s announced 2G GSM/GPRS using them immediately. Generally sunset (including 2G GSM/EDGE) at the within one or two “cycles” of contracted end of December 2016. And, in North service, most customers can transition America, the spectrum of other 2G GSM to the new technology and any carrier networks are being re-farmed remaining customers can be offered over the next few years in order to add further incentives to switch. 3G UMTS/HSPA and 4G LTE bandwidth.

For a number of technical and business The 2G GSM technologies (using Time reasons, M2M devices have much Domain Multiple Access – “TDMA” longer lives than consumer handsets: protocols) are not as spectrum efficient as the newer 3G (using Wide- • The devices are often not “user- Band CDMA – “W-CDMA”) and 4G replaceable” and cannot be LTE (using Orthogonal Frequency carried in to a store and changed Domain Multiple Access – “OFDMA”) out. technologies. In other words, for • The device may be embedded the same amount of bandwidth in a inside other machinery, thereby wireless spectrum, these 2G transports requiring a “service call” where cannot send as much data, or support a trained technician replaces the as many simultaneous phone calls, or unit. allow as much device management • The device cost is not subsidized communication, etc. as the newer by cellular operators, so they technologies. In particular, the 2G GSM must remain in service for costs data technologies – GPRS and EDGE – (device, installation, operation, use “TDMA” coding protocols that are etc.) to be recovered and the not as spectrum-efficient as CDMA. application benefits to continue. • Many devices are owned by a Furthermore, since the new 3G/4G single customer and it is often technologies for operators who provide cost-prohibitive for them to 2G GSM/GPRS are entirely different replace all their units at once. coding protocols – specifically W-CDMA and OFDMA – that spectrum cannot be In this section, I described the many shared. By design, W-CDMA and LTE important differences between devices (including UMTS handsets and traditional and M2M cellular HSPA data devices) can operate in GPRS deployments. I did so in an effort to mode in markets where only 2G GSM is

5 available, but the converse is not true – 2G GSM/ Traditional operators have stopped certifying GPRS devices cannot operate in 3G or 4G mode and allowing any new M2M applications that use in the spectrum used for those new technologies. GPRS-only radio modules in an effort to avoid more devices on the network that will require However, 2G CDMA networks (and 1xRTT data replacement when the 2G GSM/GPRS technologies transport) will be available for many years. Indeed, are removed. And, for most customers, they have the cost of 2G CDMA is less than migrating from also stopped provisioning new devices – even for 2G GSM/GPRS applications to 3G UMTS/HSPA certified 2G GSM/GPRS applications. – thus, converting to 2G CDMA for many M2M applications is the best approach. There is less Summary: 2G CDMA pressure to convert 2G CDMA devices because, Regardless of the lowest-cost module availability, from the start, they were more spectrum efficient 2G GSM/GPRS service availability has no real than GPRS and EDGE. The operators that deployed longevity and this is a killer issue – it makes no CDMA like Aeris, also deployed upgrades that have sense to develop and deploy a new 2G GPRS M2M made the service viable for years to come, and on application in North America. Thus, the rest of this which CDMA devices can co-exist more readily. section only covers 2G CDMA. Regardless, the traditional 2G operators in North • Low-cost CDMA (1xRTT) radio modules are America are pushing their M2M customers hard available today and prices continue to drop. to upgrade. Most M2M devices, however, can still • There are multiple suppliers of 2G CDMA use 2G technologies very effectively because M2M radio modules. Thus, 2G CDMA is a cost transmissions generally require very few bytes. effective solution for most M2M applications. Therefore, if you have a 2G CDMA deployment • Excellent 2G CDMA data services are that is low-usage, it can run on the Aeris network available just about everywhere that cellular and there is no reason to spend the money on services are available, although service may upgrades for equipment and higher network costs. degrade in Canadian markets sooner than US markets. However, if you have already deployed 2G GSM/ • And perhaps most importantly, the typical GPRS applications, the problem is very significant. 50 to 100 Kbits/sec data rate is more than It is likely that 2G GSM/GPRS service will be sufficient for most M2M applications. Why impacted as soon as spectrum is re-farmed, and spend so much for technology that your converted to 3G and 4G, particularly in the dense application will never need? urban areas where the business need for 3G/4G service is greatest.

6 3G • Speeds are typically 1 to 3 Mbits/ sec; this is more than sufficient for 3G networks increase both the almost every M2M Application. download and upload performance 3G HSPA and HSPA+ data rates for IP data. When 3G became available, are higher than 3G EV-DO Rev. A it had little impact on most M2M data rates. applications because they rarely • Excellent coverage for 3G needed – or could make effective use CDMA EV-DO Rev. A. Services of – the higher performance that these are available from a number of technologies provided. However, if you operators just about everywhere are now planning an M2M deployment that cellular services are available. that will be deployed for 5 to 8 years, • Coverage for 3G HSPA and you should consider 3G. Both the HSPA+ is much less than 2G equipment and network connectivity GSM/GPRS, 2G CDMA and 3G are more expensive than 2G, but if CDMA and further expansion is you can anticipate that your M2M not expected. application will evolve significantly, you can prepare yourself for the growing demands for M2M data collecting and 4G LTE management. LTE is an “All IP” technology. The bits and bytes are transported using IP data It is important to note that the 3G HSPA packets and control messages are also coverage has not grown significantly modified to fully use IP. The deployment in the past few years – the capital and of the 4G LTE network infrastructure is effort for the operators deploying this simpler and less expensive than older technology has been diverted to their cellular technologies, allowing for more 4G LTE expansion. Thus, it is important rapid deployment of service. However, to ascertain whether the coverage – since 4G LTE technologies use new particularly for a non-mobile, fixed- OFDMA protocols, today’s handsets location, M2M application – is available. and must be multi-mode. CDMA operators (Verizon, Sprint, Aeris, etc.) On the other hand, 3G CDMA EV-DO therefore provide radios that work in coverage is excellent – essentially equal 4G mode when in LTE coverage, and in to the 2G CDMA coverage footprint CDMA mode when not in LTE coverage. today. Of course, this may change in the future after 4G LTE becomes more For GSM operators (AT&T, etc.), this common. means providing radios that work in LTE mode when in LTE coverage, and Since the 3G Module prices are higher in UMTS mode (and HSPA and HSPA+ than 2G CDMA Module costs, selecting data) when not in LTE coverage. Since either 3G EV-DO or 3G HSPA will be UMTS is not deployed everywhere, more expensive than a 2G CDMA these radios also use 2G GSM/GPRS and application today. EDGE if it is available. It is not surprising that these radios are expensive to Summary: 3G produce today. • Faster speeds than 2G (although, in many cases, faster than most Dual-mode M2M Modules cannot M2M applications require). operate in all technology modes • More expensive devices, simultaneously. Thus, companies equipment and connectivity than must enhance network infrastructure 2G. to allow a radio to change modes easily. This is particularly important

7 for highly mobile M2M devices (used Summary: 4G LTE in a fleet management application for LTE is an excellent choice for longevity example) that need to handoff between of service; however, due to current technologies while in the middle of a unavailability of low-cost modules, and critical IP data session. the potential for roaming problems without many multi-band Modules, The increased complexity of the this is not a good choice for most M2M protocols requires higher performance applications. processors in the radios. Thus, 4G cellular chipsets are necessarily much • 4G offers the highest data rates larger. This means a higher cost for available for the foreseeable the radio – the relationship between future (at least until LTE Advanced increased chip size and increased cost becomes available!). is well-known. In most cases today, this • The need for dual-mode radios makes large-scale M2M deployments drives high LTE hardware prices. using 4G technologies difficult. • Due to frequency spectrum differences, roaming among LTE Spectrum operators is likely to be poor for Cellular operators are deploying LTE a long while and modules cannot at different frequency bands because be “moved” to another provider. of the allocations of spectrum they • Coverage is in major cities only, acquired. For example, Verizon and and insufficient for many M2M AT&T are deploying LTE at 700MHz applications today. This will (different bands though!) and Sprint change in time as all operators is deploying LTE at 1.9GHz. will deploy LTE. intends to deploy LTE at 2.5GHz. Other • Speeds are typically between 3 to operators are deploying LTE at yet 10 Mbits/sec - this is more than different frequencies; for example, sufficient for almost all M2M MetroPCS used 1.7GHz / 2.1GHz for applications. their LTE deployments. Overall Summary This use of differing bands is important for companies currently considering To summarize, for planning a new M2M LTE deployments. For example, AT&T deployment today: is also deploying LTE at 1.7GHz/2.1GHz, and will eventually convert much of • Do not deploy a new 2G GSM/ their current 850MHz and 1900MHz GPRS application unless you are GSM bands to LTE. In the future, Verizon prepared to deal with the removal is likely to convert their 800MHz and of this service within a few years. 1.9GHz CDMA deployments to LTE. • Select 2G CDMA if the data rate Sprint intends to deploy LTE at their is sufficient for your application 800MHz Nextel frequencies and some requirement – this is the best unused 1.9GHz blocks. choice today for most M2M applications. Thus, unless an LTE radio can be • Select 3G if higher data rates are used at more than one of these LTE required and your application bands and blocks – particularly for the will be deployed for 5 to 8 years spectrum in the US – it is likely that LTE – this is the next-best choice after roaming will be difficult to impossible 2G CDMA. for many years. This means that the • Select 4G if the above 2G and market is not yet ready for LTE M2M 3G technologies do not have deployments and if your application sufficient data rates, and if the requires roaming, then LTE is not an option for you yet. 8 limited coverage and high module costs are not a concern. • Select LTE if the highest data rates are absolutely required, and the current limited coverage and very high module costs are not a concern. Be prepared to deal with the roaming limitations due to spectrum differences.

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