Potential roadblocks
Of course, these are just a few potential uses for M2M technology. In the public-safety space, integrating video-surveillance systems with analytics solutions can greatly enhance operational efficiencies by reducing the number of people required to monitor video in real time. And appropriate M2M systems can be used by enterprises to alert personnel of network outages or maintenance requirements.
Given the extent of this projected migration to M2M solutions, security is expected to become an even bigger priority—the dangers associated with hackers getting into the power grid already is a major concern. In addition, the idea of 50 billion M2M connections has some wondering what impact all of these connections could have on the RF noise floor.
While the noise-floor issue could be a factor eventually, most sources noted that M2M communications often are low-power transmissions and are not constant, limiting their impact on the RF environment. In addition, many of the most critical M2M links may be done via wired connections instead of wireless. Finally, interference-mitigation techniques continue to improve, so most believe M2M will be able to scale in the manner projected, without significant RF issues.
“The more wireless we get, the more that’s going to become an issue,” said Tom Sorley, chairman of the technology committee for the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC). “Luckily, with antenna technology and other things, there’s a lot of room for growth, as well. I think the technology in that space will be able to keep up and mitigate a lot of that.”