UMTS, HSDPA and complementary technologies: new possibilities for M2M

In recent years, communication between systems or M2M (English, machine-to-machine) has become a very promising international market. For example, the market research institute says ABI Research's report "The Cellular M2M Module Market" to the international market for M2M modules will grow about 31 percent between 2006 and 2012.

One reason this happens is that M2M technology is a growing presence in vertical markets. This technology has penetrated especially in logistics and fleet management in remote monitoring of machines and buildings, as well as remote data reading, which hitherto were collected manually, including current meters and heat or hours of construction equipment service (automatic reading or AMR [English, Automated Meter Reading]).
It is also used increasingly in the security sector, telemetry, health, and location of people and goods. Meanwhile, M2M technology is no longer just important in the inter-market. Also for consumer applications is becoming increasingly attractive in the areas of monitoring or remote control.


New challenges and trends
Today the market is witnessing a growing technical penetration. This means that progressively more devices, previously controlled by a simple electromechanical system but are now equipped with a microcontroller. In practice, this means that the remote transmission of data to measure, control or regulate, and to locate, it will integrate in applications, which until now had no communication functions. For example, shipping containers sensitive drugs have to be kept chilled small control devices (black boxes) to measure temperature in real time during the trip and constantly supervised. The opening of doors and access control systems are managed and administered through increasingly GSM. This allows identification even by mobile phone. Moreover, these systems allow management
through a service provider without a technician visits through remote maintenance.
A second trend facing systems integrators, developers and manufacturers of modules is the progressive miniaturization of M2M applications. This allows sites and application scenarios hitherto unimaginable. For example, systems
location GSM / UMTS / GPS, with the size of a matchbox, can be held comfortably in the pocket in an infant backpack or glove compartment of a car.
Thus, developers and system integrators are forced to create applications with flexible and reliable low-maintenance and self-diagnostic capabilities. Systems must be designed to allow efficient use of bandwidth so that data transmission is economical. No less important is a flexible connection to the hardware and software in the appropriate system environment, for example, in a truck.
Because of this development, but also due to the high competitiveness of the M2M market, increase the technical requirements faced by the GSM / GPRS. We need a highly reliable, high technical availability and stability of the product, since many systems and applications operate autonomously, mobile or remote locations. The direct maintenance is costly or impossible. Therefore, it demands a suitable hardware for the industry which supports a wide temperature range, low power consumption and can be easily integrated.
The rate of data transmission is increasingly important for both the downlink (downlink) and for the upstream (uplink) because with M2M technology, data is normally found in the mobile unit and must be sent. Herein lies the difference with the consumption sector applications, which usually are downloaded much more data that are sent (as with asymmetric DSL connection). The importance of the transmission rate increases in professional applications because the transmission possible with hitherto relatively small amounts of data, such as passing a threshold temperature or latitude-longitude and are increasingly demanding greater bandwidth. For example, the transmission of digital audio data, video streams in real time reading of temperature profiles in a period of time or travel diaries transmission complete at the end of the day or week.


UMTS and HSDPA: new perspectives for the M2M market
The transmission rate offered by GSM / GPRS is limited from 56 to 114 kbit / s. For this reason, the latest trend are the modules that offer UMTS theoretical transfer rates of up
2 Mbit / s. With HSDPA technology can achieve bandwidths and transmission rates even higher, in theory approximately 7.2 Mbit / s. However, in practice, network operators offer only maximum transmission rates of up to 384 kbit / s over UMTS.
Due to the increasing requirements on data rates, UMTS and HSPDA occur in many application areas higher advantages and opens new fields of application in mobile communication technology. Users benefit primarily from increased mobility. The applications are faster. First, HSDPA provides various practical applications the ability to use them
while mobile. In particular, for
transmission applications that require real-time data, UMTS and HSDPA open new opportunities ..

UMTS: new challenges for developers
The biggest challenge for developers is the solution seamlessly integrate mobile into existing communication environment. For enterprise customers, the technical details of the transfer are irrelevant; they simply want to have data collected on the ground in the IT environment that normally use and can use them safely. For example, to use these technologies in the M2M sector, should take into account several specific factors such as network coverage and availability: UMTS will not be available in all regions once fully installed. Moreover, in many cases, the client can not determine the location and direction of the antenna of its application, unlike what happens with the user of a mobile that can approach the window if the concrete of the building prevents you from using the phone. Therefore, it is so important a professional design of the entire system as the possibility of having simultaneously with GPRS, ensuring wider coverage or even CSD (data call) as an alternative slower.
Moreover, many M2M applications, the uplink is equal or even more important than the downward, although usually much less bandwidth. UMTS transmission rates of uplink are, at present, about 128 kbit / s compared to the 384 kbit / s downlink. Even still, UMTS continues to provide a considerably higher bandwidth than GPRS.
CETEC adapted an application and GSM / GPRS to UMTS technology for one of its customers and has expanded the solution accordingly. In designing the application, the main challenges were to make the concept of power to the high consumption of the new modules. To take advantage of all possible transmission rate also had to be optimized communication interface between the UMTS module and the host application. Because of the new range of frequencies, CETEC also faced new demands for integrated and external antennas, especially as GSM / GPRS and dual-band or even quad had to be used in parallel with the same antennas. Switching seamlessly between UMTS and GPRS was a new challenge to the control module GPRS / UMTS.
Meanwhile, have appeared in various modules UMTS market for M2M communication. One example is the UMTS / HSDPA module of Telit UC864-E, which allows for extremely fast data transmission from 7.2 Mbps to 2,100 MHz, which makes it the most powerful M2M module market today. Module is also compatible with EDGE and quadband GSM / GPRS. The module has the same form factor and mechanical ports and other software products in the Telit GC864 series, for example, the GE864 and CC864-DUAL, two of the M2M modules GSM / GPRS and CDMA 1xRTT M2M more small in the world today. The UC864-E is now the most compact module market UMTS and can be integrated with minimal adaptation, design GSM / GPRS available to the client. The module provides a continuous adjustment applications to higher transmission rates and the requirements of different global markets.


Whither goes the development?
Alongside new mobile radiotelephone services technologies such as UMTS, to be taken into account a range of M2M market trends. Thus, users are increasingly more able to adapt their applications with little effort to changing demands and market conditions. The solution here is to update the software applications or modules over-the-air (wirelessly). Thanks to these services, M2M technology is much more stable and above all safely. For example, since 2008, Telit offers its customers the FOTA service (English, Firmware Over The Air), which is based on mobile network technology Bends vCurrent ©. With this technology can quickly identify significant changes between the existing firmware and a new version. These firmware updates are compressed into packets that can be up to 97 percent smaller than those generated with other applications. By the FOTA server controls the Telit module update wherever you are. In this way, customers can react quickly to changes in mobile radio networks. If the provider of software extensions developed module, they can be transmitted immediately to the client applications through a remote update. Even if the user develops a software update to its standalone application module can transmit through wireless updates.

Increased customer value by integrating additional functions or utilities
Strategies for responding to new challenges M2M market is also, according to ABI Research, the integration of functions of the module or additional utilities that increase the value for the customer. These include, for example, the integration of GPS or expanding the capacity of the processor. With it, users are in a position to let your application directly on the module expires. The most recent example of this trend is the Telit GE863-PRO3. This module quad-band GSM / GPRS provides near the processor module, an additional powerful ARM9 processor from Atmel. Therefore, software applications have full access to the CPU while the GPRS processor handles communication tasks urgent. The module is compatible with Python and C / C + +. With the GE863-PRO3 substantially reducing costs of developing complex M2M application.
Another M2M market trend is the integration of short-range wireless technologies such as ZigBee, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, which have an important role in regard to transmission of data at close range free, low energy consumption and so wirelessly. CETEC has already developed for several clients data collectors, data concentrators, and bridges, which basically
collect data from devices within its radius of Alcan -
ce IrDA (infrared), Bluetooth, WLAN (wireless local area network) or similar technologies, and sent via GPRS. Some of the most common applications are found in the monitoring and domotics buildings as well as in medical technology. For example, you can collect data using Bluetooth mobile devices that carry the patient vital functions (heart rate, blood pressure) and then send them directly to the physician via GPRS.


Results
M2M technology is advancing by leaps and bounds in the coming years will greatly increase their influence in different vertical markets as well as the final consumption sector. At the same time, certain criteria such as high connection speed, efficiency, low cost and high accuracy are increasingly critical to the success of M2M applications.
For that reason, developers and system integrators are forced to meet the increasing requirements with innovative design.

Author:

Alexander Bufalino, senior vice president of global marketing for Telit Wireless Solutions and Peter Guntz, CEO of CETEC