The pace of technological advancement is accelerating exponentially. The most significant innovations arise from combining different technologies to meet market needs. A prime example is the Apple iPhone™, which revolutionized the smartphone market, displacing Nokia’s™ smartphone business. But what does the future hold for wireless IoT (Internet of Things)? Is there a product on the horizon that will disrupt the growth aspirations of operators’ M2M connections? An IoT innovation that could change the game.

IoT connectivity history

In Finland, mobile networks have been utilized across various sectors for decades. One example is M2M (machine-to-machine) connections. This connectivity has enabled, for example, remote reading of energy and water meters as far back as the 2G network era. More recent service innovations include Finnish company Enevo, aiming to optimize waste collection logistics. One technology challenge is the power consumption of IoT sensors and the need for battery replacement. This fact has limited service innovations and led to significant maintenance costs. The new generation (5G and 6G) and their NB-IoT and LTE-M standards promised solutions by offering longer operational times with small amounts of data transmission. However, despite this development, Cellular IoT solutions still need to meet expectations. I’ll summarize the challenges into two major categories:

Challenges of M2M technology and market – Distribution Channel

Distribution Channel – Licensed frequencies: Mobile operators focus on maximizing ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) through connection productization and marketing. Without continuously raising connection prices, revenue and profits do not grow as connection numbers stagnate at 2011 levels. The market demand for IoT sensors has been high for years, but most use cases require connections priced in cents. The cent market has yet to interest operators, at least not yet. Consequently, offerings have mainly been limited to €4/SIM trail camera products and sales of M2M connections to a small customer segment. There should be billions of connections for a cent-priced product to make a noticeable impact on the operator’s bottom line. Yet, the world needs trillions of sensors. With current M2M pricing, products operating on licensed frequencies struggle. Mobile network M2M connections are 50–200 times too expensive for the market, and nationwide coverage is usually unnecessary.

Challenges of M2M technology and market – Technology

Technology – Deploying billions of battery-operated sensors undermines 80% of IoT value due to manual maintenance requirements, limited lifespans, gaps in power-saving techniques, and environmental hazards from producing and disposing such devices. The sheer number of batteries is a problem that EU legislation is now addressing. A trillion IoT sensors mean 274 million battery replacements daily if an IoT sensor can last ten years between replacements. This operation would require approximately 28 million people working 8-hour days.

An IoT innovation that could change the game

By leveraging two decades of circuit technology research and development, battery-free IoT sensors require such small amounts of power that they can continuously detect, process, and wirelessly transmit data—all the required energy comes from energy harvesting. For example, all energy required is harvested from WiFi access point radio waves. This energy harvesting eliminates the costs of battery replacement and the recycling problem. It’s ecological and sustainable development. Combining battery-free IoT sensors with WiFi Halow™ technology, a few €200 access points achieve sufficient wireless network coverage and better material penetration.

Some features of WiFi Halow include:
  • Range 1 – 3 km Excellent material penetration (walls, floors, obstacles)
  • Extremely energy-efficient for IoT devices (long battery life if battery required)
  • 600 – 6000 devices on one €200 access point
  • Security: AES and WPA3 over-the-air Compatible with the old WiFi standard Free frequency (no licenses = no monthly fees to operators) An ecological and very cost-effective solution

Combining a few innovations creates an ecological and cost-effective network solution to serve the market’s required use cases. This future solution may change the game in wireless IoT. It’s unlikely to be in the interests of mobile operators, as it offers customers a new model almost for free. Therefore, EU support for unlicensed frequencies is crucial. The benefits of a wireless and unlicensed IoT network serve society and its competitiveness broadly. A closed market is proven to raise prices and reduce innovation.

 

Hannu Rokka, Senior Adviser

5Feet Networks Oy