An overview of 3GPP enhancements on machine to machine communications

TLDR

The Internet of Things and machine‑to‑machine communications demand low‑cost, power‑efficient global connectivity, prompting 3GPP to develop new physical‑layer, MAC, and network‑architecture enhancements that are incorporated in LTE Release 13, with narrowband IoT also under development. This tutorial provides an overview of 3GPP features that support M2M communications, such as enhanced physical‑layer options, new MAC procedures, and extended discontinuous reception. It describes the implementation of enhanced machine‑type communications in the physical layer and the introduction of extended discontinuous reception in MAC and higher layers.

Abstract

The broad connection of devices to the Internet, known as the IoT or M2M, requires lowcost power-efficient global connectivity services. New physical layer solutions, MAC procedures, and network architectures are needed to evolve the current LTE cellular systems to meet the demands of IoT services. Several steps have been taken under the 3GPP to accomplish these objectives and are included in the upcoming 3GPP LTE standards release (3GPP Release 13). In this tutorial article, we present an overview of several features included in 3GPP to accommodate the needs of M2M communications, including changes in the physical layer such as enhanced machine type communications, and new MAC and higher-layer procedures provided by extended discontinuous reception. We also briefly discuss the narrowband IoT, which is in the development stage with a target completion date of June 2016.