NATIVE SUPPORT FOR
M2M COMMUNICATION
Wireless communication is becoming a commodity,
just like electricity or water [13]. This commodification,
in turn, is giving rise to a large class of
emerging services with new types of requirements.
We point to a few representative such requirements,
each exemplified by a typical service.
•A massive number of connected devices:
Whereas current systems typically operate with,
at most, a few hundred devices per base station,
some M2M services might require over 104 connected
devices. Examples include metering, sensors,
smart grid components, and other enablers
of services targeting wide area coverage.
•Very high link reliability: Systems geared at
critical control, safety, or production have been
dominated by wire line connectivity largely
because wireless links did not offer the same
degree of confidence. As these systems transition
from wire line to wireless, it becomes necessary
for the wireless link to be reliably
operational virtually all the time.
•Low latency and real-time operation: This
can be an even more stringent requirement than
the ones above, as it demands that data be transferred
reliably within a given time interval. A
typical example is vehicle-to-X connectivity,
whereby traffic safety can be improved through
the timely delivery of critical messages (e.g.,
alert and control).