Mobile operators have pinned many hopes on a couple of assumptions about new generation M2M services ‘ that many of them would run in licensed spectrum, positioning cellular networks as the basis of the internet of things; and that the established MNOs would control those networks. Of course, there are various flaws in this thinking, most of them connected to the importance of unlicensed spectrum and private M2M networks in key verticals. But there is also a rising breed of dedicated M2M operators which build networks in licensed spectrum, but not the frequencies owned by the cellcos.
Sigfoxx in France is taking this approach using 900MHz UltraNarrowBand, a technology also adopted by UK start-up Senaptic to support specialized M2M service providers, especially in smart city projects. Now another start-up, M2M Spectrum Networks, plans to launch a specialized M2M network in licensed frequencies in the US. Its first focus will be on collecting data from RFID readers and sending it to servers without a Wi-Fi or cellco connection, and its system will also support 2G and other links.
This could bypass the MNOs and offer lower rates to M2M providers, as well as a network optimized for their particular requirements, and dedicated to them. A common objection of utilities and other M2M firms is that, on a mobile operator’s network, their services may have to fight for space with consumer data, with resulting fears over security and performance.
The US start-up emerged from stealth mode last month and aims to cover 194 cities by the end of this year, 75% of the US population by the end of 2015, and 95% a year after that. Similarly to Sigfoxx and Senaptic, it is using narrowband frequencies below 1GHz ‘ in particular, ‘Part 90’ spectrum, which sits in multiple bands including VHF, UHF, 800MHz and 900MHz and is allocated for ‘private land mobile radio services’.
M2M Spectrum’s CEO Barclay Knapp says these frequencies are “unloved and underused’, though existing users are mainly related to public safety. The firm echoes the opinions of many M2M specialists, that conventional cellular systems such as LTE are designed for human-based communications, but are like using a hammer to crack a nut when it comes to machine-to-machine links, which often involve small amounts of data combined with constant signalling.
According to RFID Journal, M2M will deploy three different sizes of cognitive radios working in the 800MHz, 900MHz and 200MHz bands. The largest radio, which can transmit over 35 miles, acts as a network gateway and receives signals from the other two types, then forwarding the collected data to the cloud servers. The midsize radio can be mounted indoors or on a lamp-post and can transmit over about five miles, while the smallest one, half the size of a credit card, links to an RFID reader or handset and can transmit over half a mile. The three types form a mesh so that cognitive radios in more remote locations can reach the gateway.
As well as optimized networks, specialized operators can also more easily adapt to the new charging models required by huge numbers of low-data, low-cost endpoints, in which the traditional per-device or per-Mbyte approaches do not work. M2M Spectrum is still refining its business model while it rolls out the network, but it will be based on percentage of revenue or of the value of an application. There will also be a set of open APIs so that third parties can build apps for the network.
Though many questions remain unanswered as yet, the start-up has signed some strong partners including tower firm Crown Castle, plus TrueNet to manage the build-out, GlobeRanger for the RFID solution, Raveon for the radio platform, and 4G Unwired for RF design. Trials have been conducted in Jacksonville, Florida and the first sites will be turned on in the next few months.
Knapp himself was the co-founder and president of Cellular Communications, the first cellular company in the US to go public. He later sold it to Airtouch, one of the firms which became Verizon Wireless. He also co-founded the UK’s NTL, which later became Virgin Media.
He says his latest venture has sufficient funding, from individual investors, to cover the roll-out of 194 cities, but it is also approaching larger, institutional investors and potential strategic partners.