In this post, Ahmed Tarek, a telecommunications specialist that has made data pipelines and infrastructure solutions for the last 17 years, walks us through some of the challenges of deploying such networks at scale, as well as how they will be integrated with future 6G technology layers.
IoT and mIoT explained
This is wider-angling and includes any network of physical devices (e.g., sensors, appliances, and M2M) connected to the Internet, enabling these objects to collect and exchange data. It is common for other applications, including home, industrial, etc.
Massive IoT (mIoT) deals with typical cases when a very large number of devices are to be deployed simultaneously, and the class includes hundreds of billions or trillions of units deployed throughout the world. Some examples of IoT devices include smart meters, environmental sensors, and devices in a smart city, such as those that detect malfunctions or other issues with the infrastructure. The mIoT focuses on connecting a very large number of low-cost, low-power devices that normally only send a small amount of data occasionally.
Device characteristics and communication requirements
For IoT, some use cases may need very low latency and high bandwidth connections (for example, a real-time video feed or connected cars).
Massive IoT this includes most mIoT devices, which transmit tiny amounts of data infrequently and are used on low-bandwidth, long-range networks such as those provided by using Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT).
6G Technology: Enhancing mIoT Connectivity
6G technology claims to offer newer functionalities related to ultra-high data rates, hyper-low latency, and massive connectivity. It is expected that this will allow billions of IoT devices to communicate without difficulty, opening the doors for massively scalable smart cities, and industrial automation. With this come security and privacy threats as the attack surface for cyber threats grows due to the increased number of connected devices. Data congestion will likely become one of the most pressing issues as 6G-IoT networks mature, posing new demands on reliable communication and data protection.
The Road Ahead for 6G
While 6G is not expected to be commercially launched very soon, it is still undergoing research and development. Key milestones for standardization by organizations like ITU and 3GPP are anticipated to peak between 2024 and 2026. Pre-commercial demonstrations and prototypes of 6G networks are expected to emerge between 2027 and 2029, followed by full-scale commercial deployment of bandwidths that can enable industry-transforming use cases and applications, particularly in massive IoT, after 2030.
Threads of the using mIoT
He also outlined the security concerns about mIoT, such as an increasing number of connected devices in mIoT networks potentially exposing the network to cyber threats that may compromise data security and privacy.
Data Congestion: Tackling the piles of data from huge amounts of deployed devices on mIoT networks may cause troubles like data congestion and pain in extracting values from such data.
Conclusion
With 6G not too far off in the future (with technology moving at such an accelerated pace) and will continue to be mIoT networks are becoming closer to a reality than ever before. 6G will globally connect trillions of devices to enable new forms of smart cities and truly revolutionize industrial automation. But, this shift is hard. The track toward scaling mIoT networks solving data congestion in one decade and patching up critical security choke points the next is not a smooth one, and will call for considerable forethought and shared effort between all involved industries.
Ahmed Tarek holds patents and speaks regularly on telecom infrastructure techniques and IoT implementation. While the practicability of such a massive transition is yet to be tested, he foresees that 6G will enable ease of accessibility and latency-free experience, provided we are able to securely navigate past cyber vulnerabilities and modestly restrain voice data for continued communication firewalls. We will now have to weigh up the advantages and issues of 6G as we head into a time where extensive IoT networks are the norm.