IoT: Bringing Automation for Better Tomorrow

Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT can be defined as the network of interconnected sensor-equipped electronic devices that
exchange data and connect with each other. It is the interplay of telecom, electronic hardware,
and software industry.

IoT has the potential to bring substantial social and economic benefits to governments, citizens,
end-users and businesses through increase in productivity and competitiveness, improvements in
service delivery, optimal use of scarce resources as well as creation of new jobs. It is a
technology innovation which can change the life of billions of people using trillions of devices.

Machine-to-Machine communication (M2M) is a key component of the evolving IoT revolution.

The terms M2M and IoT are not interchangeable. IoT is a wider concept incorporating people,
data, processes, and things (M2M communication).

IoT Use Cases

Industry Applications

Manufacturing • RFID tags with WiFi infrastructure being used to get more visibility to track
real-time line productivity
• Smart tools being used to perform manufacturing processes such as drilling,
measuring, tightening, etc. leading to improvement in production efficiency,
by regular monitoring of results
• Sensors and GPS receivers being used on dump trucks to reduce variability of
pre-set routes
• Remote monitoring of medical equipment to reduce downtime
• Smart factories enabling visibility into production issues for an integrated
view, thereby increasing efficiency and utilization of equipment
• Sensors installed on engines to reduce downtime via predictive maintenance
Automotive • Connected cars to integrate vehicle-related services
• Tires-as-a-service offering to allow fleet managers to pay for tires on a
kilometer-driven basis, thus saving costs
• Software installed in truck fleet to send alerts and guide drivers to local
dealers stocked with replacement parts
• Secure M2M cellular connectivity to check battery, remotely control air-
conditioning, lock or unlock, etc.
• Usage-Based Insurance for automobiles based on M2M cellular connectivity
• Autonomous driving systems based on IoT along with Cloud technology to
build driverless cars

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Agriculture • Sensors to monitor insects and pests and schedule release of pesticides
• Sensors installed on farm equipment to assist farmers to manage fleet of
tractors
• Carbon nanotube sensors to monitor level of nutrients in crops, assisting
farmers to assess the maturity of produce
• Connected equipment with GPS, monitoring and electronic controls to help
farmers
• Remote sensors to help farmers monitor vitals such as humidity, air,
temperature, soil, etc.
• Geo-fencing of livestock, along with irrigation scheduling and pump control
Retail • Beacons to push notifications to consumers about a coupon or sale
• RFID tags to provide access to a variety of services, and track them later
• Re-inventing trial rooms with virtual and smart mirrors, thus helping
consumers in making
• a choice
• Polo shirts that monitor and show heart rate and calories burned if worn during
work-outs
Healthcare • Solutions to conduct IoT enabled clinical trials in order to evaluate specific
outcomes
• Sim-enabled glucometers to monitor and analyze diabetic patients
• Mobile devices with sensors to remotely monitor patients with chronic
illnesses
• Wearable sensor patches to give insights on health patterns, medication
effectiveness, etc.
• Sensors placed around the elderly and vulnerable to give information about
activity patterns, change in behavior, etc.
• Wearable devices to track activities such as walking, biking, etc.
Transport & • Sensors to detect whether mailboxes are empty to optimize collection during
Logistics last-mile delivery
• Aggregated data of ships using sensors, GPS to collect information on traffic,
possible congestion and parking spaces
• RFID tags to monitor all baggage carts and ground motorized equipment on
airport
• Sensors to monitor different temperature bands and quality of the food being
delivered
• Sensors to check on the condition of grocery and other consumables supplied
• Tracking devices to keep tabs on temperature, location, condition of packages

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Different Layers of IoT Architecture

The IoT ecosystem typically consists of –

I. Device Manufacturer/Provider:

The device provider is responsible for devices providing raw data to the network provider and
application provider according to the business model. This category encompasses the IoT chip-
set manufacturer, the IoT module manufacturer and the end device manufacturer (for e.g. a car
manufacturer or an air conditioning manufacturer) who integrates the IoT module in his device).

II. Connectivity/Network Provider:

The network provider/operators are the connectivity providers who own the underlying network
to provide connectivity and related services for IoT Service provider. In particular, the network
provider can perform the following main functions:
• access and integration of resources provided by other providers;
• support and control of the IoT capabilities infrastructure;
• offering of IoT capabilities, including network capabilities and resource exposure to other
providers.

III. IoT/M2M Service Provider (MSP):

It is an entity that provides IoT/M2M Common Services (registration, discovery, security, group
management, data management & repository, subscription & notification, device management,
application & service management, communication management, network service exposure,
location, service charging & accounting) to Application provider. DoT has defined M2MSP as
an entity that collects and analyse data from M2M devices and platforms.

IV. IoT Application Provider:

It is an entity that realizes the service logic of an M2M Application and utilizes
capabilities/resources provided by the network provider, device provider and IoT/M2M service
provider, in order to provide IoT applications to end users.

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V. End User:

Individual or company who use an IoT solution.

IoT/M2M ecosystem

IoT Technologies
A. Connectivity layer

In order to make the network of the devices, there is no one-fits-all connectivity solution for all
IoT use cases. Several technologies (as listed in Table I) satisfy a multitude of IoT’s connectivity
needs.
The telecom network is a ready infrastructure that can be leveraged for providing connectivity in
IoT based services. The telecom access technologies are rapidly evolving to meet the
requirements of IoT. Fifth generation wireless (5G) - the latest iteration of cellular technology is
expected not only to provide faster access, but also acts as an information duct built to connect
billions of IoT devices. With the rollout of 5G networks in the near future, critical IoT
applications will mostly ride over 5G networks.

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Apart from telecom network, many new approaches, for example, Low Power Wide Area
Network (LPWAN) technologies which are specifically designed for machine-type
communication (MTC) are being experimented and adopted. These technologies are specialized
for interconnecting devices with low-bandwidth connectivity, focusing on range and power
efficiency.

Table I: Connectivity solutions for IoT

Wide area network

2G, 3G, 4G, 5G
technologies
Low power wide area network NB-IoT, LoRa, Sigfox, Weightless, Ingenu, SilverSpring’s
(LPWAN) technologies Starfish, EC-GSM, LTE-M
NFC, RFID, IrDA, Bluetooth, z-Wave, Zigbee, WiSUN, Wi-
Short range technologies
Fi, Li-Fi, Thread

Fixed Line technologies Optical Fiber, DSL

B. Service layer

Data Storage & Processing-

• Cloud computing, Edge computing

IoT will generate massive amount of data. The full potential of IoT can be leveraged only if this
data that is being generated by IoT devices is stored and processed efficiently. Nowadays, the
Internet-based computing, called cloud computing, is one of the prominent ways of data
processing and storage. It provides a ubiquitous and on-demand access to a virtually shared pool
of configurable computing and storage resources. It is an excellent platform to handle the
enormous data generated from the IoT environment due to cheaper and large amount of virtual
computing/processing power available at the cloud centre. However, it is not suitable for the
applications demanding low-latency, real-time operation and high Quality of Service (QoS).

Edge computing is the latest development in the computing world that addresses some of the
drawbacks of cloud computing. Edge computing extends the cloud computing functions to the
edges of the network. Due to proximity to the end-users and geographically distributed
deployment, it can support the applications/services demanding the requirements of low-latency
and high QoS.

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Data Analysis-

• Artificial Intelligence- Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Speech Recognition

IoT will produce data that can enable optimized productivity across industries, create truly smart
cities with smart grids, smart transport systems and smart homes, bring in efficiency in
delivering health services, improve agricultural yields, offer personalized customer experience
and enhance public safety. As more and more things will get connected to the IoT, the volume of
data associated with and generated by IoT devices, will increase exponentially. To find relevant
information from such large volumes of data, we need Artificial Intelligence (AI). Through
Machine learning (an AI technology), we can identify patterns and detect variations in the big
data sets. Other AI technologies such as speech recognition and computer vision can also help
extract insight from data that otherwise is difficult for humans to review.

Government’s Actions so far

The Government of India (GoI) has proactively taken several initiatives which are to be driven
by M2M/IoT deployments. Digital India programme and vision to establish more than 100 Smart
Cities in the country are the missions for moving the country towards Digital Society. Digital
India, Make in India, Smart Cities, Start Up India, Skill India are all technology driven projects
through which the digital profile of India is all set to leapfrog.

A lot of work is being done in India in order to have clear and consistent regulations and policies
for IoT/M2M communication.

• The Government recognized the potential of M2M communication as earlier as in 2012 by

including it in National Telecom Policy-2012.

• In 2015, DeitY released a 'Draft Policy on Internet of Things' which focuses on the following
objectives (1) To create an IoT industry in India of USD 15 billion by 2020 (2) To undertake
capacity development (Human & Technology) for IoT specific skill-sets for domestic and
international markets (3) To undertake Research & development for all the assisting technologies
(4) To develop IoT products specific to Indian needs in all possible domains.

• In May 2015, DoT prepared the “National Telecom M2M Roadmap” with the aim to have
interoperable standards, policies and regulations in the country. TEC of DoT came out with 9

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technical reports on M2M detailing sector specific requirements/use cases to carry out gap
analysis and future action plans with possible models of service delivery.

• DoT finalized separate 13 Digit M2M Mobile Numbering Plan for SIM based M2M devices.

• In May 2016, DoT issued draft guidelines for registration mechanism for M2M Service
Providers.

• In order to have the inter-ministerial coordination to address all issues related to M2M, DoT
constituted an Apex body on M2M incorporating participation from Ministries and other
Government departments. To bring M2M industry concerns and regulatory bottlenecks to the
notice of Apex body, DoT also constituted M2M Consultative Committee incorporating
representatives from Standardizing bodies such as Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and
Telecom Standards Development Society of India (TSDSI) and sectoral industry representative
bodies. To support the implementation of actionable points evolved from National Telecom
M2M Roadmap, M2M Review Committee was also formed by DoT.

• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) submitted its recommendations to DoT on

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Communications in September 2017 covering the licensing,
spectrum, e-SIM, roaming, QoS, security & privacy related issues. TRAI has unbundled each
layer of the M2M ecosystem and has provided recommendations accordingly.

 For connectivity layer, TRAI has recommended permitting existing TSPs, ISPs and other
connectivity providers like UL (VNOs) to provide M2M connectivity with just amendments
in their licensing agreements. And for connectivity providers using the unlicensed bands,
TRAI has recommended to a have light touch regulation. A registration process is
recommended for connectivity providers using PAN/WAN for commercial purposes. UL
(M2M), a new authorization under UL is recommended for connectivity providers rolling
out LPWAN networks.

 For the M2M service provider, TRAI is in agreement with DoT, to mandate MSPs to
register with the government under M2M service providers Registration. It may help them
to boost their business globally, as registration will provide them recognition as a registered
entity with the Government of India.

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 For critical applications in which any variation in QoS, latency or availability, can cause
substantial damage to customers, TRAI has recommended that these services should be
identified and mandated to be provided by connectivity provider using licensed spectrum
only.

 For manufacturing/ importing of M2M devices in India, TRAI has recommended the
government to issue comprehensive guidelines. TRAI has also recommended creating
National Trust Centre (NTC), under the aegis of TEC, for the certification of M2M devices
and applications (hardware and software).

 Considering the need to have more spectrum for access services due to likely high influx of
connected devices owing to M2M/IoT services, TRAI has recommended having additional
delicensed spectrum in 800 & 900 MHz band.

 Related to roaming, TRAI has recommended that National roaming for M2M/ IoT shall be
under forbearance and International roaming in M2M shall be allowed under the well-
recognized framework of GSMA ‘M2M Annex’ to keep uniformity of the parameters and
processes.

 On the issue of Data Protection in M2M sector, since a paper on "Privacy, Security, and
ownership of Data in telecom sector" was under consultation, TRAI in its recommendations
have mentioned that after due deliberation, a comprehensive recommendation on Data
Protection will be issued.

• In May 2018, DoT issued instructions for implementing restrictive features for SIMs used only
for M2M communication services (M2M SIMs) and related KYC instructions for issuing M2M
SIMs to entity /organization providing M2M communication services under bulk category and
instructions for embedded-SIMs (e-SIMs).

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