ETSI Headquarters, Sophia Antipolis, France — 21 September 2010
The growing recognition of the global significance of machine-to-machine (M2M) communications was amply demonstrated in the first meeting outside Europe of the M2M technical committee of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).
Over forty telecommunications experts from leading companies and organizations around the world participated in shaping wireless technologies that connect people and devices – ranging from remote monitoring and control to e-health, smart transportation, and intelligent homes – changing the way people live, work and play. The meeting of the committee, which defines the operation of future M2M communications and the efficient integration onto wireless networks, was held from 13 to 17 September in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, hosted by InterDigital, Inc.
As an adjunct to the meeting, the host held a successful demonstration of a working prototype of an end-to-end architecture that interconnects cellular and non-cellular (e.g. WPAN, WLAN) networks seamlessly, using the cellular network to remotely manage and control both cellular and non-cellular M2M devices. This architecture is being standardized within ETSI in order to enable a broad range of M2M applications in vertical markets such as smart energy, healthcare, transportation, and security. The standardization of service platforms and application programming interfaces (APIs) creates a much needed and attractive way for cellular operators to capitalize on the boom in wireless M2M deployments.
France Telecom’s Marylin Arndt, Chairman of the ETSI M2M committee, thanked InterDigital for hosting this meeting, the 12th since the committee’s creation in January 2009. She also praised the commitment and hard work of the committee’s delegates who come from Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) companies around the world. She announced that the first step of the standardization process, defining requirements for the system, had been successfully completed and that work continues to develop the detailed standards. A first release of these is foreseen for the first semester of 2011, enabing the global industry to deliver M2M services. She stressed the demanding challenges of this work, including very short deadlines and the need to synchronize with M2M initiatives which have been set up in other standards organizations and industrial alliances, in order to ensure interoperability and interworking.
The host, InterDigital, has been an active contributor to the M2M standardization process, since its advanced R&D efforts in M2M communications are integral to the company’s vision of tomorrow’s “Network of Networks”. This envisions the seamless integration of advanced cellular systems with multiple communications networks, which include other air interfaces that intelligently and constantly connect people and things across a myriad of wide, local and personal area networks.
An ETSI leaflet is available that describes the role of ETSI and the scope and significance of M2M communications.
