There are a huge number of IoT devices, often roaming across countries and continents, that are located outside urban areas. This poses significant challenges to both the design and connectivity of the device, the biggest concern being that there is no room for error, as troubleshooting and maintenance of remote and roaming devices is complicated and costly. As part of the Internet of Things North America conference in Chicago Illinois (April 13th – 14th 2016), Podsystem Inc. CEO Sam Colley will be presenting ‘A Fresh Approach to Remote IoT Connectivity’ at 11:30 on April 14th. Sam will address the challenges faced by remote IoT applications developers and discuss ways of overcoming them. His presentation is centered around an infographic which outlines the main issues involved in developing remote IoT applications and explains how to make the correct choices in terms of device design, connectivity and future proofing to prolong the lifespan of the application and avoid costly mistakes.

1. A fresh approach
to remote IoT Connectivity
Past Future
Sensors Connectivity
Bandwidth and
Processing
New ways to
analyze data
Reduction
in prices
Massive
roll out of
IoT Apps
328 million
devices connected
to the internet
per month
Huge
growth
27.8 - 50 billion
devices connected
by 2020.
Nearly
$6 trillion
High cost
Hardware
Analysis of data
M2M
applications
for specific
requirements
Widespread
roll out
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Cars
Cities
Health
Industry
Living and Working
In total Machina Research forecast
that there will be 29 billion M2M
connections by 2024, up from
4.5 billion in 2014.
0.5
0.0
1.5
1.0
2.5
2.0
Global cellular M2M
connections
2014-2024
Logistics
Automotive
Smart homes
Consumers
Government
Business
Manufacturing
Energy
1 2 3
Drivers and growth markets
will be spent on IoT
solutions over the
next 5 years
Present
Top IoT solutions adopters
Connected Cars
BI Intelligence estimates
that 92 million cars
shipped globally in 2020
Built with
internet-
connection
hardware
Growing at a five-year compound
annual growth rate of 45% —
10 times as fast as
the overall car market.
Other
75%
x 10
Consumer devices IoT devices
Distributed deployments
in rural areas create
additional demand
in areas with less
infrastructure.
Devices connect on a
best-effort basis.
Consumers accept
the limitations.
Devices use more
data less frequently.
Mission critical IoT
applications require
real-time feedback
greater demand for
more robust systems
with lower latency.
IoT devices generate
traffic with different
patterns.
Often small, regular
data use (e.g. a network ping).
Devices are generally
located in populated
areas (cities, towns etc.)
Most cell towers are
located in these areas.
Global
When we think of the IoT,
we often think of the more
consumer focused smart
home applications,
connected fridges,
alarm systems etc.
But many IoT applications
are located much further
afield.
Rural areas
(e.g. agriculture, energy,
environment)
Remote
applications
Roaming applications
(e.g. connected cars, one of the
fastest growing sectors in the IoT)
Mission critical and real time
applications
(e.g. Industrial IoT and healthcare)
By 2024, in certain network cell sites, Machina Research
predicts a data traffic uplift of 97% due to large amounts of
connected cars. These peaks have obvious implications for
QoS
Cell A Cell B Cell C Cell D
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Trafficuplift
2014 2024
Huge growth
in IoT apps
Many different connectivity options,
varying levels of standardization
No one option currently provides the technology needed
to scale to the massive opportunity offered by the IoT
In the current market, how do I design my devices
to be future proofed, especially for mission critical
and remote applications?
Wifi
Cellular
LPWA
Technologies
Bluetooth Satellite
+
NEW TECHNOLOGY, NEW INFRASTRUCTURE
Multi-IMSI:
Multiple independent
core networks on the
same SIM
Open connectivity
is the answer,
the connectivity
needs to enable
remote control
and back-up
Cellular applications
should avoid
dependency
on any one
connectivity
provider
Open application on
the SIM to swap
between core
networks automatically
if connection is lost
Avoids dependency
on one network
infrastructure and
provides a “No Single
Point of Failure” solution
Platform to enable
Over The Air updates
to the SIM, remotely
controls the roaming
profile
New IMSIs can be
added OTA to respond
to changing market
conditions (pricing,
roaming agreements...)
Future proofs
connectivity as the
profile of the SIM can
be adapted remotely
Remote
device
requirements
Remote and roaming devices
are difficult to troubleshoot or
maintain.
They must be designed to allow
remote updates to avoid costly
truck rolls and downtime.
Allow interaction with different
types of cellular connectivity via
the SIM card (multi-network,
multi-IMSI)
Devices should include
an STK (SIM Application
Toolkit) and ability to use
multi-IMSI SIMs and receive
OTA messages for remote
configuration
The printed
circuit board
design should
be compatible
with 3G and
4G modems
even if the
current
requirement
is only for a
2G modem.
The modem should be compatible
with with different connectivity
options. For example, non-steered
multi-network SIMs are key
to avoiding coverage
blackspots. To keep connectivity costs
to a minimum,
session lengths must be
optimized to allow for data
billing increments.
Must accept the
correct AT
commands
OTA to ensure
that SIMs can
be updated
when market
conditions
change.
Since devices cannot be easily
accessed and re-configured,
they should avoid dependency
on any one network.
The connectivity should
be remotely controlled
and access to multiple
independent operators
is paramount.
FIRMWARE
STK
HARDWARE
INDEPENDENCE
CONFIGURATION
COMPATIBILITY
EMBEDDED
DEVICES
DEVICE DESIGN
MNOs MVNOs
Due to the roaming
agreements they
have in place, tend to
steer data to specific
networks, which may
not be beneficial in
terms of coverage.
Do not generally have
the knowledge of
individual sectors to
allow them to make
recommendations
in terms of hardware,
firmware or software
development.
Cannot guarantee
uptime 100% of the time,
network outages can
and do happen, which
can be disastrous for
mission critical
IoT applications
Are independent, so they
can make agreements
with individual networks
around the world
Can layer networks on top
of one another to provide
redundancy and back-up
in case of technical or
commercial issues
Have a greater
understanding of
the vertical sectors
in which many of
these applications work
and the way devices,
firmware, software
need to be configured
Many MVNOs are now
adding their own virtual
infrastructure, software
and platforms on top of
the network connectivity,
providing more control and
future proofing e.g. virtual HLR,
multi-IMSI applications on
the SIM, OTA platform
for remote control
Which connectivity partner can provide
the best options for future-proofing?
Have their own
infrastructure,
but in terms of
the IoT this can
be restrictive
since this has
been developed
initially to service
consumer demands
The IoT is everywhere...
ADVANTAGES
Highest throughput
DISADVANTAGES
Spectrum utilization,
power requirementsWifi
Bluetooth beacons Low application throughput
Bluetooth
LPWA
Cellular
No power requirement
Low cost
Global coverage, application
profile standards
Higher reliability for mission critical
applications
CAT 1 and CAT 0 LTE for low cost,
and ultimately NB-IoT high range
data transfer
Power requirements,
coverage “black spots”
Low data throughput
Less reliability for mission
critical and real-time applications
Satellite
Breadth of coverage even
in areas with limited infrastructure
e.g. at sea or in developing
countries
Price and interference due
to weather conditions
Near range
Near range
Wide range
Global
Ethernet
IoT frameworks
map higher-level protocols,
stable service for SLAs,
mobile backhaul, security
Limited range, devices don’t work
until they have a method of
communication with the network
W
I
R
E
D
W
I
R
E
L
E
S
S
Connectivity Options
Cellular connectivity offers
many advantages for remote,
roaming and mission critical applications
1- Global nature of cellular infrastructure
2- Defined standards for 2G, 3G, 4G
3- Multi-Network and roaming capability
4- Rapid throughput of data for real
time applications
5- Future 3GPP standards (Cat 1,
Cat M, NB-IoT) will offer optimized,
lower cost connectivity for IoT
Networks are not
currently designed
to support the
growth in traffic
forecasted for
the IoT
Networks have traditionally been designed to manage
mobile traffic from consumer devices. IoT devices put
very different demands on the network
Open connectivity requires open devices...
WHY? BUT
Global
+ =
+ =
=
Consumer and IoT device behavior
Cellu
roam
Where do we go from here?
Open Connectivity...
Satellite
Applications:
Very remote such as
at sea or developing
countries with no
mobile infrastructure
GPRS
Cellular (GSM, 3G, 4G)
Also 3GPP (Cat 1, Cat 0,
Cat M, NB-IoT)
Applications:
Mission critical such as
Industrial IoT, healthcare,
Roaming real-time such
as Connected Car
LPWAN (LoRaWAN,
Neul, Nwave, UNB
e.g. Sigfox, Weightless etc.)
Applications:
Utilities, smart cities,
smart buildings, consumer,
logistics and some
agricultural
Wifi, Bluetooth,
Thread, Zigbee,
Z-Wave
Applications:
Smart Home,
intelligent buildings