A Focus on Reliable Wireless Connections for the Internet of Things

Three companies with products applicable to the Internet of Things (IoT) have teamed up to deliver technology that will increase device reliability over a wireless network.

Telit Wireless Solutions, a provider of modules and services for interconnecting devices, together with automotive telematics supplier Allianz Telematics and Telenor Connexion, the business solutions division of global telecommunications company Telenor Group, have created a “Network Friendly Mode” for their respective products that is said to ensure signal transmission amid the billions of devices fighting for bandwidth.

Specifically, the trio is developing an IoT ecosystem that complies with the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association’s (GSMA) “IoT Device Connection Efficiency Guidelines,” released last October.

The guidelines outline a number of best practices, including data aggregation within devices, non-synchronous network access, application scalability, and guidance on how to manage signaling traffic from de-activated or out-of-subscription SIMs.

Telit, Allianz, and Telenor collaborated to create dependable devices and applications operating together over a wireless network. The system has been verified in Ericsson’s Radio Testing Laboratory, an independent testing facility working with the new GSMA guidelines.

Having a reliable connection is just one benefit of the network-friendly mode. Meeting budget constraints is the other value-add.

The Telit product, called GE865, is a cellular module made specifically for industrial equipment and M2M applications. With the new “Network Friendly Mode” algorithm, end users can better manage their network costs, says Sara Brown, Telit’s global marketing projects director.

“We provide software and hardware that streamlines connectivity issues,” Brown says. Manufacturers shouldn’t be paying for more network bandwidth than needed if, for example, the set-up requires only sending a few hundred bits of data per day to check factory equipment remotely, according to Brown. However, the network must be available and reliable when it comes to solving problems on the plant floor, she notes.

“There are so many devices pinging the network and we want to do everything we can with our partners so that there is never a situation where the network is not available for mission critical applications,” says Brown.

Telit worked with Telenor on the Allianz Usage Base Insurance system, which includes a device mounted under the dashboard of a car used to collect real-time data on distance traveled, speed, even road conditions. The information is transferred via wireless network to the insurance company to adjust premiums accordingly.

“The experience we gained building the Allianz implementation will be reused to integrate this feature into other products,” says Telit Chief Product Officer Felix Marchal. To that end, in 2013, Telit acquired ILS Technology, a provider of cloud-based technology used to connect enterprise IT with M2M-enabled devices. These services could also benefit from the new algorithm. “We are confident that this feature is critical to the future growth of the M2M/IoT market.”