IoT critical to design of future mobile networks - survey

A survey conducted by Telecoms.com Intelligence has revealed that Internet of Things and M2M technology is expected to have the most significant influence on how mobile networks evolve.

The Future of Mobile Networks Outlook 2015 survey, available for download on Telecoms.com, addressed four key areas of the mobile network and how operators intend to manage them as we move towards 2020 – 5G, information security, voice over LTE and network assurance. More than 400 responses came to a variety of questions, and on multiple occasions IoT and M2M came up as a primary motivator for respondents when it comes to the design of future networks.

41.1% of the audience identified the machine-based communications technologies as the primary security concern in the build of future networks. It’s likely this has been specifically identified due to the sheer volume of anticipated IoT connections as the technology takes off. A previous report conducted by Telecoms.com Intelligence also focussed on IoT and identified security challenges as being the single biggest inhibitor to its future development.

Elsewhere, IoT was also commonly identified feature most desired by the audience when 5G was considered. 23.7% of respondents said IoT was the most important network or technological feature required when developing 5G. The clear leader, above IoT however was spectral efficiency, as voted for by 28.5% of the audience. This may indicates that despite the promise of new technologies and functionalities, none will be more important than guaranteeing spectrum availability despite finite resources.

34.4% also believed the emergence of IoT and increased M2M communications is the primary driver for future network assurance, which appeared to further compound one of the most common observations from the survey.

Another noticeable outcome from the report saw 30.6% of the audience say raising competitive pressure against OTT voice services is the biggest driver for launching VoLTE. However opinion was fairly evenly split across other motivating factors such as revenue generation and raising ARPU, customer retention and to demonstrate innovation to rivals.

Other findings revealed a level of hesitation surrounding the high-definition calling technology. 34.1% of respondents aren’t sure when they’ll be launching VoLTE, and 56.9% cited continuity with legacy 2G and 3G networks is the biggest challenge they face in rolling out a VoLTE offering.

The full 17-page report is now available to download via telecoms.com here; published in association with F5, Tata Communications, Astellia and MYCOM OSI.