M2M massive wireless access: Challenges, research issues, and ways forward

In order to make the Internet of Things a reality, ubiquitous coverage and low-complexity connectivity are required. Cellular networks are hence the most straightforward and realistic solution to enable a massive deployment of always connected Machines around the globe. Nevertheless, a paradigm shift in the conception and design of future cellular networks is called for. Massive access attempts, low-complexity and cheap machines, sporadic transmission and correlated signals are among the main properties of this new reality, whose main consequence is the disruption of the development of the current cellular standards. Here, we provide insights and introduce potential solutions for the cellular radio protocol that will allow the efficient support of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications. The paper focuses on the massive aspect of M2M. We will introduce PHY and MAC approaches such as Coded Access Reservation, Coded Random Access and the exploitation of multiuser detection in random access. Additionally, we will show how the properties of machine originated signals, such as sparsity and spatial/time correlation can be exploited. The end goal of this paper is to provide motivation and research guidelines for enabling future networks to support efficiently M2M communications.