Machine type communications in 3GPP systems

3GPP studies indicate that for mobile networks to be competitive for mass machine-type applications, it is important to optimize their support for the expected huge growth of connected devices due to uptake of machine-type communications. In this article we briefly describe the architectural enhancements in 3GPP systems to better facilitate machine type communication. We highlight key architectural changes, functionality of new network elements to support new features such as device triggering, packet switched subscriptions including short message service via PS domain and SMS in MME. We also describe overload control mechanisms to prevent overload situations caused by synchronous connection requests from large numbers of MTC devices to the 3GPP system. Finally, we discuss how this work is expected to evolve in future 3GPP releases.