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    M2M Tips – Deploying Cellular M2M or IoT Devices in Australia

    M2M Tips – Deploying Cellular M2M or IoT Devices in Australia

    by | Jul 7, 2015 | M2M and IoT

    Over the past 15 years the team at M2M Connectivity & M2M One have coached, consulted, celebrated and at times commiserated with thousands of hopeful developers trying to make their mark on the Machine to Machine/Internet of Things landscape.

    This series of blog posts is designed to pass on some M2M 101 style tips to developers looking to get into the space.

    This week we give some tips to businesses, developers and distributors who are looking to build or import an M2M/IoT solution for use in our backyard, the Australian marketplace.

    Traditionally we have dealt with local Australian or New Zealand based developers building products specifically designed to meet some of the unique challenges in terms of coverage, environment and demand in Australia – With the increasing global nature of M2M/IoT we’ve seen our customer base grow to include two interesting new additions:

    • International companies looking to bring their unique solution to the Australian Market.
    • Local Entrepreneurs with a great product idea sourcing or developing hardware using international manufacturers.

    This is great because it brings a whole new range of innovation and competition to the local market, but it also brings unique challenges as a majority of these customers are unfamiliar with the intricacies of deploying solutions in Australia.

    Some of the more isolated areas in Australia are found in the north and the centre of the Country - Image from AussieStock

    Some of the more isolated areas in Australia are found in the north and the centre of the Country – Image from AussieStock

    Mobile Coverage

    Australia is unique in terms of geography in that a large portion of the country is relatively unpopulated or uninhabitable while there is some mobile infrastructure that covers these areas around 70% of the countries landmass does not have mobile coverage and can only be covered by Satellite. The closest country in terms of similar mobile coverage disparity is possibly Canada, but the physical geography is quite different.

    To give you an idea of the population density and mobile coverage, the country’s largest mobile network operator Telstra covers roughly 28-30% of Australia and 99.5% of the population; the second largest operator Optus covers roughly 13-15% of Australia and 98.5% of the population. Telstra covers roughly an extra 1 million Square Kilometers of the Country to cover an additional 1% of the population.

    Most major motorways, truck routes and shipping areas have mobile coverage so you are rarely without coverage, unless you go completely into the ‘bush’.

    An example of Telstra's coverage of Australia

    An example of Telstra’s coverage of Australia

    Mobile Network Operators

    Australia has 3 major mobile network operators, with all other providers operating as wholesales or MVNOs for existing infrastructure. ADSL provider TPG has recently purchased some LTE spectrum as has the National Broadband Network (NBN) but neither have announced any long-term plans.

    The 3 operators in Australia are:

    • Telstra – The countries largest mobile network covering over 2.3 million square kilometers (roughly 28-30% of the country) and 99.5% of the population.
    • Optus – The countries second largest mobile network covering over 1.3 million square kilometers (Roughly 13-15% of the country) and 98.5% of the population.
    • Vodafone – Vodafone don’t typically publish their coverage statistics, but have recently entered into a 3G tower sharing agreement with Optus so you can estimate that their coverage is similar to Optus.

    Operating Frequencies

    Australian carriers operate 2G, 3G & LTE networks – CDMA was decommissioned in 2008.

    Telstra Optus & Vodafone are following US Carrier AT&T’s model of closing down 2G to re-farm spectrum for LTE/4G.

    Telstra:

    • 2G – 900Mhz (This frequency is being re-farmed for LTE and will no longer be available to 2G devices from December 1st 2016)
    • 3G – 850Mhz/2100Mhz (For the best coverage 850Mhz is a must have)
    • 4G/LTE – Telstra currently operates 5 frequencies for LTE these are listed below. The critical frequencies for all M2M/IoT applications are B3 & B28
      • B1 – 2100Mhz
      • B3 – 1800Mhz (Must have for M2M/IoT)
      • B7 – 2600Mhz
      • B8 – 900Mhz
      • B28 – 700Mhz (Must have for M2M/IoT)

    Optus:

    • 2G – 900Mhz (This frequency is being re-farmed for LTE and will no longer be available to 2G devices from April 1st 2017)
    • 3G – 900Mhz/2100Mhz
    • 4G/LTE – Optus currently operates 6 frequencies for LTE these are listed below. The critical frequencies for all M2M/IoT applications are B3 & B28
      • B1 – 2100Mhz
      • B3 – 1800Mhz (Must have for M2M/IoT)
      • B7 – 2600Mhz
      • B8 – 900Mhz
      • B28 – 700Mhz (Must have for M2M/IoT)
      • B40 – 2300Mhz

    Vodafone:

    • 2G – 900Mhz (This frequency is being re-farmed for LTE and will no longer be available to 2G devices from September 30th 2017)
    • 3G – 900Mhz/2100Mhz
    • 4G/LTE – Vodafone currently operates 3 frequencies for LTE these are listed below. The critical frequencies for all M2M/IoT applications are B3 & B5
      • B3 – 1800Mhz (Must have for M2M/IoT)
      • B5 – 850Mhz (Must have for M2M/IoT)
      • B8 – 900Mhz

    Roaming SIMs in Australia

    If you are buying SIMs from an international carrier or MVNO it is important to note that Telstra does not allow permanent roaming on their network and can exercise the right to remove services from their network that have been roaming for over 6 months in any 12 month period – Read more here

    For permanent M2M/IoT applications that require the Telstra network your best option is to speak to M2M One or Telstra directly.

    Hardware Approvals

    All M2M/IoT hardware using an Australian Mobile Network should be RCM (Formerly A-Tick) approved – This is similar to European (CE) approval and US (FCC) approval. In some cases devices with CE or FCC approval can have approval time and costs reduced.

    RCM approval stamp

    RCM approval stamp

    If a device is being worn on the body in also needs to undergo SAR testing for radiation levels.

    Telstra and Optus also have their own approval process, this is not necessary to use their networks but devices using an approved module/modem will often be prioritized with support issues.

    For more information about approval we recommend speaking to EMC Technologies or Comtest Laboratories

    IP Addressing

    Public IP Address space is limited in Australia and most mobile carriers will not provide any sort of publically addressable IP for M2M/IoT devices. Your best bet is to utilize public Internet access or have a private IP range built on an APN for you.

    For more information about IP Addressing – Read our last blog post

    Operating Costs

    We find that a majority of customers that come from international markets, particularly Europe or Asia find the price of Data, SMS & Voice in Australia quite expensive compared to their home market.

    This has long been the case in Australia and local developers have learned to adapt and minimize their costs through efficient use of data. It is therefore important for anyone bringing a solution into Australia that they consider how to best utilize their data allowance.

    For example we see a lot of vehicle tracking and telematics applications from China and SE Asia. These are typically more ‘data hungry’ as data is relatively cheap in these markets; most devices typically consume 30MB or data or more a month for normal operations. An equivalent Australian made device would probably consume between 3-5MB of data per month for similar functionality due to price constraints in the market.

    There you have it, a quick practical overview on deploying M2M or IoT hardware in Australia. In our next article we will give a more general overview of the Australian M2M market, pointing out the areas that are saturated and those that are growing, from our experience.

     

    Did you find this tip useful? Do you have some questions on the Australian Machine-to-Machine and Internet of Things market we can answer for you? Let us know on Twitter @M2MOneAU, on LinkedIn at M2M One or visit our website at www.m2mone.com.au.

    James Mack

    General Manager – M2M One

    The views and opinions expressed in this blog site are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of M2M One or M2M Group.

    M2M Tips – Public IP vs Private IP – Addressing for M2M/IoT Devices

    M2M Tips – Public IP vs Private IP – Addressing for M2M/IoT Devices

    by | Jun 19, 2015 | M2M and IoT

    Over the past 15 years the team at M2M Connectivity & M2M One have coached, consulted, celebrated and at times commiserated with thousands of hopeful developers trying to make their mark on the Machine to Machine/Internet of Things landscape.

    This series of blog posts is designed to pass on some M2M 101 style tips to developers looking to get into the space.

    This weeks question is around IP address allocation for M2M/IoT devices; “what are your options? What are the associated costs? And what are the long-term implications? “

     

    To IP or NAT to IP… (Ok that was terrible, I’m sorry)

    The first thing I want to achieve with this post is to address some common questions we get asked on a daily basis when it comes to IP addressing.

    1. Where is IPv6? – To most people involved in IP networking, especially in the M2M space this has been the Holy Grail for the past 3 years but in reality there is still some way to go from a hardware and network architecture perspective for it to be commonplace. I know the IoT is going to be a big factor in driving IPv6 uptake but from a cellular M2M perspective it’s all IPv4 all the time… for now.
    1. Gimme that Public Static IPv4 address – Looks good, sounds good but in reality it’s hard to find due to the lack of IPv4 addresses, the cost of maintaining those addresses and the various security issues related to having a permanently discoverable IP address, which I’ll discuss a little later.
    1. My device is useless without an addressable IP – This is possibly the biggest misconception around IP addressing in M2M. Yes being able to address a device when needed is useful, but there are literarily millions of devices that function just as well by initiating communications remotely without needing to be poked or prodded by you or your server.

    So what are your options when it comes to IP addressing and management for M2M/IoT devices? Please keep in mind that I’m not a network engineer so these are my limited technical interpretations of M2M IP addressing.

     

    Public Internet Access via NAT with dynamic private addressing

    Public Internet Access via NAT with dynamic private addressing

    Public Internet Access via NAT with dynamic private addressing

    Pros

    • Easy to acquire.
    • No set up cost.
    • Low monthly fee.

    Cons

    • No ability to directly address a device.
    • Data is sent across the public internet (may not comply with some security policies).

    This is the most common solution we see for M2M devices, as it requires very little effort in terms of set up and cost. It basically utilizes common carrier APNs (the same as you would see on a phone or tablet SIM) to give an M2M device access to the public Internet to send and receive data.

    The IP address of the SIM is hidden behind the networks firewall so the device can’t be addressed directly across the public internet, which means all devices with this setup need to initiate a communication session with the host service/client.

    Example: M2M One would issue a SIM with our common internet APN (telstra.internet or telstra.m2m) and the customer would then program their device to initiate communication using one or both of these APNs. When the device calls in, it then exposes it’s IP address to the host allowing two-way communication.

     

    Public Internet Access with dynamic public IP

    Public Internet Access with dynamic public IP

    Public Internet Access with dynamic public IP

    Pros

    • No set up cost.
    • Low monthly fee.
    • Addressable IP.

    Cons

    • IP is dynamic so changes each session.
    • Public IP can be susceptible to DDOS & packet sniffing which at the very least drives up data costs each month.
    • Can be difficult to acquire in some markets

    Another popular solution, if you can get it. Again popular because it costs very little in terms of set up and monthly on goings. The difference here is that while it still uses the public Internet over a common APN, it allocates a publically addressable IP address.

    The issue that then needs to be overcome is the fact that the IP address changes, usually with each new session. This means that it is impossible to accurately address a device without using a DynDNS server to allocate a fixed address/name to an asset.

    Another issue is that due the increased amount of bot and sniffing traffic on the Internet, most public IP addresses are scanned at some point. This can cause a device to respond; even though it is not sending any data an acknowledgement still utilizes resources on a public network, which can drive up monthly data costs. We have seen customers who typically use around 5MB per month go up to 20 or 30MB when using public IP addressing.

    Example: M2M One would issue a SIM with a dynamic public APN (telstra.extranet), when the device first connects to the internet the customer can poll the device or utilize the M2M One Control Centre to find the IP address of his unit. This can then be added to a DynDNS server and the IP managed by a client on the device, which updates the server whenever the IP address changes, but maintains an addressable name/alias.

     

    Private Static IP Addressing

    Private Static IP Addressing

    Private Static IP Addressing

    Pros

    • Highly Secure.
    • Addressable IP.
    • Address never changes.

    Cons

    • Typically has higher set up and monthly costs
    • Requires additional networking, VPN etc
    • Can be hard to obtain in certain markets

    Due to the lack of IPv4 space this is most often the only solution for customers who absolutely need a completely static addressable IP. The customer is assigned an IP range, usually on a private APN this allows each device to be given it’s own unchanging IP address.

    The problem is that these IP addresses exist in a private space meaning they can not be accessed from the “outside world” this makes them extremely secure but means that you need a method of getting in to the private IP space. This is typically achieved through a VPN tunnel but can also be done on a peer-to-peer level by using a centrally allocated router configured on that IP space to talk to all other devices in the field.

    Example: M2M One would issues a SIM with our private APN and an IP range to a customer. M2M One would then allocate a private IP address to each of their devices in the field, by configuring a VPN between their server and IP subnet they can communicate with each device in a private closed loop environment with fully encrypted traffic traveling back to their server.

     

    You can also find more information on private IP addressing at https://www.m2mone.com.au/m2m-wireless-ip-networking/

    Hopefully this post hasn’t caused too many people far more technical than me to shout at their screen and spill their coffee, but if it has please feel free to comment and share your knowledge and expertise!

    Did you find this tip useful? Do you have some questions on the Machine-to-Machine and Internet of Things industry we can answer for you? Let us know on Twitter @M2MOneAU, on LinkedIn at M2M One or visit our website at www.m2mone.com.au.

    James Mack

    General Manager – M2M One

     

    The views and opinions expressed in this blog site are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of M2M One or M2M Group.

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