Cellular Internet of Things: From Massive Deployments to Critical 5G Applications

Cellular Internet of Things

From Massive Deployments to Critical 5G Applications

Second Edition

Olof Liberg

Ericsson Business Unit Networks

Mårten Sundberg

Ericsson Business Unit Networks

Y.-P. Eric Wang

Ericsson Research

Johan Bergman

Ericsson Business Unit Networks

Joachim Sachs

Ericsson Research

Gustav Wikström

Ericsson Research

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

Biography

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1. The Internet of Things

1.1. Introduction

1.2. IoT communication technologies

1.3. Outline of the book

Chapter 2. Global cellular IoT standards

2.1. 3GPP

2.2. Cellular system architecture

2.3. From machine-type communications to the cellular internet of things

2.4. 5G

2.5. MFA

Chapter 3. EC-GSM-IoT

3.1. Background

3.2. Physical layer

3.3. Idle and connected mode procedures

3.4. Other features

Chapter 4. EC-GSM-IoT performance

4.1. Performance objectives

4.2. Coverage

4.3. Data rate

4.4. Latency

4.5. Battery life

4.6. Capacity

4.7. Device complexity

4.8. Operation in a narrow frequency deployment

4.9. Positioning

Chapter 5. LTE-M

5.1. Background

5.2. Physical layer

5.3. Idle and connected mode procedures

5.4. NR and LTE-M coexistence

Chapter 6. LTE-M performance

6.1. Performance objectives

6.2. Coverage

6.3. Data rate

6.4. Latency

6.5. Battery life

6.6. Capacity

6.7. Device complexity

Chapter 7. NB-IoT

7.1. Background

7.2. Physical layer

7.3. Idle and connected mode procedures

7.4. NR and NB-IoT coexistence

Chapter 8. NB-IoT performance

8.1. Performance objectives

8.2. Coverage and data rate

8.3. Peak data rates

8.4. Latency

8.5. Battery life

8.6. Capacity

8.7. Positioning

8.8. Device complexity

8.9. NB-IoT fulfilling 5G performance requirements

Chapter 9. LTE URLLC

9.1. Background

9.2. Physical layer

9.3. Idle and connected mode procedures

Chapter 10. LTE URLLC performance

10.1. Performance objectives

10.2. Simulation framework

10.3. Evaluation

Chapter 11. NR URLLC

11.1. Background

11.2. Physical Layer

11.3. Idle and connected mode procedures

Chapter 12. NR URLLC performance

12.1. Performance objectives

12.2. Evaluation

12.3. Service coverage

Chapter 13. Enhanced LTE connectivity for drones

13.1. Introduction

13.2. Propagation channel characteristics

13.3. Challenges

13.4. LTE enhancements introduced in 3GPP Rel-15

Chapter 14. IoT technologies in unlicensed spectrum

14.1. Operation in unlicensed spectrum

14.2. Radio technologies for unlicensed spectrum

Chapter 15. MulteFire Alliance IoT technologies

15.1. Background

15.2. LTE-M-U

15.3. NB-IoT-U

15.4. Performance

Chapter 16. Choice of IoT technology

16.1. Cellular IoT versus non-cellular IoT

16.2. Choice of cellular IoT technology

16.3. Which cellular IoT technology to select

Chapter 17. Technical enablers for the IoT

17.1. Devices, computing and input/output technologies

17.2. Communication technologies

17.3. Internet technologies for IoT

17.4. The industrial Internet of Things

Chapter 18. 5G and beyond

Index

Copyright

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Biography

Olof Liberg is a Master Researcher at Ericsson Business Unit Networks. After studies in Sweden, USA, Germany, and Switzerland, he received a bachelor's degree in Business and Economics and a master's degree in Engineering Physics, both from Uppsala University. He joined Ericsson in 2008 and has specialized in the design and standardization of cellular systems for machine-type communications and Internet of Things (IoT). He has, over the years, actively contributed to the work in several standardization bodies such as 3GPP, ETSI and the MulteFire Alliance. He was the chairman of 3GPP TSG GERAN and its Working Group 1, during the 3GPP study on new radio access technologies for IoT leading up to the specification of EC-GSM-IoT and NB-IoT.

Mårten Sundberg is a researcher at Ericsson Business Unit Networks, with a previous position as a Senior Specialist in GSM radio access technology. He joined Ericsson in 2005 after receiving his master's degree in Engineering Physics from Uppsala University. As Rapporteur of the 3GPP Work Item on EC-GSM-IoT he was leading the technical work to standardize the new GSM-based feature dedicated for IoT. In 2016, he started leading the work toward URLLC for LTE, being a Rapporteur for the Work Item introducing shortened TTI and shorter processing times. Apart from being active in the 3GPP standardization body, Mårten has also worked for many years in ETSI, harmonizing radio requirements in Europe.

Y. P. Eric Wang is a Principal Researcher at Ericsson Research. He holds a PhD degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In 2001 and 2002, he was a member of the executive committee of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society and served as the society's Secretary. Dr. Wang was an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology from 2003 to 2007. He is a technical leader in Ericsson Research in the area of IoT connectivity. Dr. Wang was a corecipient of Ericsson's Inventors of the Year award in 2006. He has contributed to more than 150 US patents and more than 50 IEEE articles.

Johan Bergman is a Master Researcher at Ericsson Business Unit Networks. He received his master's degree in Engineering Physics from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. He joined Ericsson in 1997, initially working with baseband receiver algorithm design for 3G cellular systems. Since 2005, he has been working with 3G/4G physical layer standardization in 3GPP TSG RAN Working Group 1. As Rapporteur of the 3GPP TSG RAN Work Items on LTE for machine-type communications in Releases 13, 14, 15, and 16, he has led the technical work to standardize the new LTE-based features dedicated for IoT. He was a corecipient of Ericsson's Inventor of the Year award for 2017.

Joachim Sachs is a Principal Researcher at Ericsson Research. After studies in Germany, Norway, France and Scotland he received a diploma degree in electrical engineering from Aachen University (RWTH), Germany, and a PhD degree from the Technical University of Berlin. He joined Ericsson in 1997 and has worked on a variety of topics in the area of wireless communication systems, and has contributed to the standardization of 3G, 4G and 5G. Since 1995 he has been active in the IEEE and the German VDE Information Technology Society, where he is currently co-chair of the technical committee on communication networks. In 2009 he was a visiting scholar at Stanford University, USA.

Gustav Wikström is a Research Leader at Ericsson Research in the area of Radio Network Architecture and Protocols. He has a background in Experimental Particle Physics and received his PhD from Stockholm University in 2009, after Master studies in Engineering Physics in Lund, Uppsala, and Rennes. After Post-doc studies in Geneva, he joined Ericsson in 2011. He has been driving the evolution of network performance tools and studies and worked with WLAN enhancements toward IEEE. Until 2018 he was the driver of latency and reliability improvements (URLLC) in LTE and NR.

Preface

The Internet of Things is transforming the information and communications technology industry. It embodies the vision of connecting virtually anything with everything and builds on a global growth of the overall number of connected devices. To support, and further boost, this growth the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards development organization has in its Releases 13, 14 and 15 developed the technologies Extended Coverage GSM Internet of Things (EC-GSM-IoT), LTE for Machine-Type Communications (LTE-M), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC). These technologies provide cellular services to massive number of IoT devices with stringent requirements in terms of connection density, energy efficiency, reachability, reliability and latency.

This book sets out to introduce, characterize and in detail describe these new technologies that together are defining the concept known as the Cellular Internet of Things. After an introduction to the book in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 presents the 3GPP and the MulteFire Alliance (MFA) standardization organizations. Chapter 2 also gives an overview of the early work performed by 3GPP to support IoT on 2G, 3G and 4G, and introduces 3GPP's most recent work on the 5G New Radio. Chapters 3 to 8 focus on the work 3GPP successfully has performed on technologies supporting massive machine-type communication (mMTC). Chapters 3, 5 and 7 present descriptions of the physical layer design and the specified procedures for each of EC-GSM-IoT, LTE-M and NB-IoT. Chapters 4, 6 and 8 in detail evaluate the performance of each of these three technologies and, when relevant, compare it to the 5G mMTC performance requirements. Chapters 9 to 12 provide the design details and performance of LTE and 5G New Radio URLLC. The performance evaluations compare the achieved performance to the set of 5G performance requirements agreed for critical machine-type communication (cMTC) in terms of reliability and latency. Chapter 13 discusses the enhancements 3GPP Release 15 introduced on LTE for the support of drone communication.

Chapters 14 and 15 turn the attention from licensed spectrum operation which is commonly associated with the 3GPP technologies to wireless IoT systems operating in unlicensed frequency bands. Chapter 14 describes popular short- and long-range wireless technologies for providing IoT connectivity. Chapter 15 presents the work done by the MFA on adapting LTE-M and NB-IoT for operation in unlicensed frequency bands.

Chapter 16 summarizes the descriptions and performance evaluations provided in the earlier chapters and gives the reader guidance on how to best select an IoT system for meeting mMTC and cMTC market demands. Chapter 17 provides an overall picture of the IoT technology. It is shown that the wireless connectivity is only one among many vital technical components in an IoT system. Internet technologies for IoT and the industrial IoT are discussed in this chapter. Chapter 18 wraps up the book with a look into the future and discusses where the cellular industry is turning its attention when continuing evolving 5G.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all our colleagues in Ericsson that have contributed to the development of the wireless IoT technologies described in this book. Without their efforts this book would never have been written. In particular we would like to express our gratitude to our friends Johan Sköld, John Diachina, Björn Hofström, Zhipeng Lin, Ulf Händel, Nicklas Johansson, Xingqin Lin, Uesaka Kazuyoshi, Sofia Ek, Andreas Höglund, Björn Nordström, Emre Yavuz, Håkan Palm, Mattias Frenne, Oskar Mauritz, Tuomas Tirronen, Santhan Thangarasa, Anders Wallén, Magnus Åström, Martin van der Zee, Bela Rathonyi, Anna Larmo, Johan Torsner, Erika Tejedor, Ansuman Adhikary, Yutao Sui, Jonas Kronander, Gerardo Agni Medina Acosta, Chenguang Lu, Henrik Rydén, Mai-Anh Phan, David Sugirtharaj, Emma Wittenmark, Laetitia Falconetti, Florent Munier, Niklas Andgart, Majid Gerami, Talha Khan, Vijaya Yajnanarayana, Helka-Liina Maattanen, Ari Keränen, Vlasios Tsiatsis, Viktor Berggren, Torsten Dudda, Piergiuseppe Di Marco, Janne Peisa, and Mohammad Mozaffari for their help in reviewing and improving the content of the book.

For their generous help with simulations and data analysis we would like to specially thank our skilled colleagues Kittipong Kittichokechai, Alexey Shapin, Osama Al-Saadeh, and Ikram Ashraf.

Further we would like to thank our colleagues in 3GPP for contributing to the successful standardization of EC-GSM-IoT, LTE-M, NB-IoT and URLLC. In particular we would like to thank Alberto Rico-Alvarino, Chao Luo, Gus Vos, Matthew Webb and Rapeepat Ratasuk for their help in reviewing the technical details of the book.

Finally, we would like to express our admiration for our families; Ellen, Hugo, and Flora; Matilda; Katharina, Benno, Antonia, and Josefine; Wan-Ling, David, Brian, Kuo-Hsiung, and Ching-Chih; Minka, Olof, and Dag. It is needless to say how important your inspiration and support have been during the long process of writing this book.

Chapter 1: The Internet of Things

Abstract

This chapter introduces the overall content of the book. It contains an introduction to the massive and critical machine-type communications (mMTC, cMTC) categories of use cases, spanning a wide range of applications. When discussing these applications, consideration is given to the service requirements associated with mMTC and cMTC for example in terms of reachability and reliability. The chapter introduces the concept of the cellular Internet of Things which is defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) technologies: Extended Coverage Global System for Mobile Communications Internet of Things (EC-GSM-IoT), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Long-Term Evolution for Machine-Type Communications (LTE-M) and ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC). The final part of the chapter looks beyond the 3GPP technologies and discusses a range of solutions that provides IoT connectivity in unlicensed spectrum.

1.1 Introduction

1.2 IoT communication technologies

1.2.1 Cellular IoT

1.2.2 Technologies for unlicensed spectrum

1.3 Outline of the book

References

1.1. Introduction

The Internet of Things (IoT) is part of a transformation that is affecting our entire society: industries, consumers and the public sector. It is an enabler in the broader digital transformation of the management of physical processes. It provides better insights and allow for more efficient operation. The IoT provides the capability to embed electronic devices into physical world objects and create smart objects that allow us to interact with the physical world by means of sensing or actuation. IoT enables networking among smart objects, applications and servers.

Fig. 1.1 depicts the instance of an IoT system. On the left-hand side there are physical assets – like machines, lights, meters; on the right-hand side there are applications interacting with the physical world. There can be a variety of different applications. If we assume as example, that the physical assets are sensors that monitor the vehicle flow on a street at different locations in a city, then the application could be to monitor traffic flows throughout the city in a traffic control center. In case that the physical assets include traffic lights, which can be activated via actuators, then the application could also steer the red-green periods of individual traffic lights, e.g. based on the observed traffic flow. This shows a simple example of digital transformation. A traffic infrastructure with traffic lights with fixed configuration is transformed into a smarter traffic infrastructure, where insights about the system states are collected and smart decisions are being taken and executed within the infrastructure. The applications themselves are running in the digital domain. A representation of the physical system (i.e. streets in the city) is created, based on a model (like a street map), and it is updated with information from the traffic sensors. The management and configuration of the traffic infrastructure (i.e. the traffic lights) is made in the traffic center and the execution is transferred back to the physical world, by means of switches in the traffic lights that steer the red-green phases.

The IoT system is the enabler for the service in the above example. IoT devices are connected to the physical assets and interact with the physical world via sensors and actuators. The IoT system connects the IoT devices to the specific application of the service and enables the application to control the physical assets via actuators connected to IoT devices. The IoT platform provides common functionality, which includes device and object identification and addressing, security functions, and management of IoT devices. The IoT connectivity, which is the focus of this book, provides a generic platform that can be used by many different services, as shown in Fig. 1.2.

Fig. 1.1  IoT system providing connectivity, services and a digital representation of the physical world.

1.2. IoT communication technologies

A significant number of communication technologies have been developed over the last two decades with significant impact on the IoT. In particular, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication solutions were developed to connect devices with applications. Most M2M communication solutions are purpose-build and designed to satisfy a very particular application and communication needs. Examples are connectivity for remote-controlled lighting, baby monitors, electric appliances, etc. For many of those systems the entire communication stack has been designed for a single purpose. Even if it enables, in a wider sense, an environment with a wide range of connected devices and objects, it is based on M2M technology silos, usually without end-to-end IP connectivity and instead via proprietary networking protocols. This is depicted on the left-hand side of Fig. 1.3. It is quite different from the vision of the IoT depicted on the right-hand side in Fig. 1.3, which is based on a common and interoperable IP-based connectivity framework for connecting devices and smart objects, which enables the IoT at full scale.

Fig. 1.2  IoT system as a platform to enable many services.

Fig. 1.3  From M2M silos to the IoT.

1.2.1. Cellular IoT

In recent years the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) have evolved their cellular technologies to target a wide variety of IoT use cases. The second, third and fourth generations cellular communication systems provided since earlier connectivity for the IoT, but 3GPP is since its Release 13 developing technologies that by design provide cellular IoT connectivity. The 3GPP standardization of cellular networks is trying to address the requirements of novel IoT use case, in order to ensure that the technology standards evolution is addressing future market needs. It has become clear that the breadth of IoT use cases cannot be described with a simple set of cellular IoT requirements. In the standardization of the fifth generations (5G) cellular system, three requirements categories were defined to be addressed (see Fig. 1.4) [1]. Two of them are focused on machine-type communication (MTC), essentially addressing the IoT.

Massive MTC (mMTC) is defined for addressing communication of large volumes of simple devices with a need of small and infrequent data transfers. It is assumed that mMTC devices can be massively deployed, so that the scalability to many connected devices is needed, as well as the support to reach them with the network wherever they are located. The ubiquity of the deployment in combination with a need to limit deployment and operation cost motivates ultra-low complex IoT devices that may need to support non-rechargeable battery powered operation for years. Examples of mMTC use cases are utilities metering and monitoring, fleet management, telematics and sensor sharing in the automotive industry segment, or inventory management, asset tracking and logistics in the manufacturing segment. 3GPP has specified the Extended Coverage Global System for Mobile Communications Internet of Things (EC-GSM-IoT), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and Long-Term Evolution (LTE) for Machine-Type Communications (LTE-M) technologies for support of mMTC. These solutions are thoroughly examined in Chapters 3–8.

Fig. 1.4  Requirements on 5G.

Critical MTC (cMTC) is defined for addressing demanding IoT use cases with very high reliability and availability, in addition to very low latencies. Examples of cMTC use cases exist in various fields. In the automotive area, remote driving falls into this category, but also real-time sensor sharing, autonomous driving, cooperative maneuvers and cooperative safety. Other examples are teleprotection and distribution automation in a smart grid, automated guided vehicles in manufacturing or remote control of vehicles and equipment in smart mining. The cMTC requirement category is in the 3GPP standardization also referred to as ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC). In this book we use the term URLLC for the technologies supporting the cMTC use cases. Chapters 9–12 provides the design details and performance of LTE URLLC and NR URLLC. The performance evaluations compare the achieved performance to the set of 5G performance requirements agreed for cMTC in terms of reliability and latency. It is shown that both LTE URLLC and NR URLLC meets all the minimum requirements, while the NR technology is shown to excels in terms of spectral efficiency, minimum achieved latency and deployment flexibility.

Even the categorization of mMTC and cMTC is rather coarse and does not address all IoT use cases. To better define the requirements that a certain use case puts on the devices and the supporting network, the information and communications technology (ICT) industry leader Ericsson has introduced a novel classification of Cellular IoT in the segments massive IoT, broadband IoT, critical IoT and industrial automation IoT as described in [2] and shown in Fig. 1.5.

Fig. 1.5  Ericsson categorization of cellular IoT segments [2] .

Massive IoT and critical IoT are equivalent to mMTC and cMTC, respectively. Broadband IoT covers cellular IoT features, that are not explicitly addressed so far in standardization as a category. It applies to use cases with similar objectives as for massive IoT, in terms of battery efficient operation, device complexity and wide-area availability, but where in addition very high data rates are needed. To this end a certain comprise in terms of battery usage and device complexity is required to cater for high throughput. Examples are the transmission of high-definition maps for (semi-)autonomous vehicles, large software updates, computer vision systems, augmented or mixed reality systems, advanced wearables or aerial and ground vehicles. Drone communication is an example of an important broadband IoT use case that in recent years have grown quickly in importance and have a potential to bring significant social-economic benefits. Drones are increasingly used for aiding search, rescue, and recovery missions during or in the aftermath of natural disasters. Chapter 13 introduces the work 3GPP has done for the support for drone communication in LTE.

Industrial automation IoT covers cellular IoT features, that provide capabilities required for some industrial segments, in particular in the area of industrial automation. These are typically additional functional capabilities, rather than novel performance requirements. Often those features are needed in clearly localized solutions, like a cellular IoT system provided within a factory. An example for industrial automation IoT is the support for non-public network solutions, for native Ethernet transport with advanced LAN services and optimizations for time sensitive networking. Other examples are the support for precise time-synchronization that is provided from a time master clock over the cellular system to end-devices, or ultra-precise positioning. Chapter 16 is providing further insights into industrial automation IoT when discussing the concept of industrial internet of things.

1.2.2. Technologies for unlicensed spectrum

The 3GPP cellular technologies are not the only solutions competing for IoT traffic. Well-known technologies such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi also serve as bearers for MTC traffic. A distinction between the group of cellular technologies and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi is that the former is traditionally intended for operation in licensed spectrum while the latter two belong to the group of systems operating in unlicensed spectrum, in so-called license exempt frequency bands.

Licensed spectrum corresponds to a part of the public frequency space that has been licensed by national or regional authorities to a private company, typically a mobile network operator, under the condition of providing a certain service to the public such as cellular connectivity. At its best, a licensed frequency band is globally available, which is of considerable importance for technologies aiming for worldwide presence. The huge success of GSM is, for example, to a significant extent built around the availability of the GSM 900  MHz band in large parts of the world. Licensed spectrum is, however, commonly associated with high costs, and the media frequently give reports of spectrum auctions bringing in significant incomes to national authorities across the world.

Unlicensed spectrum, on the other hand, corresponds to portions of the frequency space that can be said to remain public and therefore free of licensing costs. Equipment manufacturers using this public spectrum must meet a set of national or regional technical regulations for technologies deployed within that spectrum. Among of the most popular license exempt frequency bands are the so-called Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) bands identified in article 5.150 of the ITU Radio Regulations [3]. Regional variations for some of these bands exist, for example, in the frequency range around 900  MHz while other bands such as the 2.4  GHz band can be said to be globally available. In general, the regulations associated with license exempt bands aim at limiting harmful interference to other technologies operating within as well as outside of the unlicensed band.

Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and thereto related technologies such as Bluetooth Low Energy, ZigBee, and Wi-Fi Halow, commonly use the ISM bands to provide relatively short-range communication, at least in relation to the cellular technologies. Bluetooth can be said to be part of a wireless personal area network while Wi-Fi provides connectivity in a wireless local area network (WLAN). In recent years, a new set of technologies have emerged in the category of low power wide area networks (LPWAN). These are designed to meet the regulatory requirements associated with the ISM bands, but in contrast to WPAN and WLAN technologies they provide long-range connectivity, which is an enabler for supporting wireless devices in locations where WPAN and WLAN systems cannot provide sufficient coverage.

Chapter 14 reviews the most important license exempt spectrum regulations and introduces some of the most popular and promising IoT technologies for unlicensed spectrum operation. Chapter 15 describes the 3GPP based IoT systems specified by the MulteFire Alliance (MFA). The MFA is a standardization organization that develops wireless technologies for operation in unlicensed and shared spectrum. The MFA specifications are using the 3GPP technologies as baseline and add adaptations needed for operation in unlicensed spectrum.

1.3. Outline of the book

The content of the book is distributed over 18 chapters. Chapter 2 introduces the 3GPP and the MFA standardization forums. It presents an overview of the early work performed by 3GPP to support IoT on 2G, 3G and 4G. The last part of the chapter provides an introduction to 3GPPs most recent work on 5G.

Chapters 3 to 8 focuses fully on the work 3GPP so successfully have carried out on technologies supporting mMTC. Chapters 3, 5 and 7 presents descriptions of the physical layer design and the higher and lower layer procedures for each of EC-GSM-IoT, LTE-M and NB-IoT. Chapters 4, 6 and 8 in detail evaluate the performance of each of the three technologies. For LTE-M and NB-IoT the performance evaluations show that the systems in all aspects meets the 5G performance requirements for mMTC services defined by 3GPP and the International Telecommunications Union Radiocommunication sector (ITU-R).

Chapters 9–12 provides the design details and performance of LTE and NR URLLC. The performance evaluations compare the achieved performance to the set of 5G performance requirements agreed for cMTC in terms of reliability and latency. It is shown that both LTE and NR support the 5G requirements from ITU-R on cMTC in terms of reliability and latency. NR is shown to be more flexible in its design than LTE and offers a higher performance.

Chapter 13 discusses the enhancements 3GPP Release 15 introduced on LTE for the support of drone communication. It is described how LTE efficiently can support the reliable command-and-control communications required for drone operation.

Chapter 14 and 15 turns the attention from licensed spectrum operation associated with 3GPP and gives full attention to operation in unlicensed frequency bands. Chapter 14 describes the most popular short- and long-range wireless technologies for providing IoT connectivity in unlicensed spectrum. Chapter 15 presents the work of the MFA on adapting LTE-M and NB-IoT for operation in unlicensed spectrum bands. In this book we refer to these technologies as LTE-M-U and NB-IoT-U, where the ‘U’ stands for unlicensed.

Chapter 16 summarizes the descriptions and performance evaluations provided in the earlier chapters and gives the reader an insight in how to best select an IoT system for meeting mMTC and cMTC demands. This guidance is based on the technical capabilities and performance of each of the systems presented in the book.

Chapter 17 provides the reader with an overall picture of the IoT. It is shown that the wireless connectivity is only one among many vital technical components in an IoT system. IoT transfer protocols and the IoT application framework are discussed in this chapter.

Chapter 18 wraps up the book with a look into the future and discusses where the cellular industry is turning its attention when continuing evolving 5G (Fig. 1.6).

Fig. 1.6  Outline of the book.

References

1. . ITU-R, . Report ITU-R M.2410, Minimum requirements related to technical performance for IMT-2020 radio interfaces(s). 2017.

2. . Ericsson, . Cellular IoT evolution for industry digitalization. 2018 Website, [Online]. Available at:. https://www.ericsson.com/en/white-papers/cellular-iot-evolution-for-industry-digitalization.

3. . ITU, . Radio regulations, articles. 2012.

Chapter 2: Global cellular IoT standards

Abstract

This chapter first presents the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including its ways of working, its organization, and its linkage to the world's largest regional standardization development organizations (SDOs).

Then, after providing a basic overview of the 3GPP cellular systems architecture, 3GPP's work on Cellular IoT is introduced. This introduction includes a summary of the early work performed by 3GPP in the area of massive machine-type communications (mMTC). The Power Saving Mode (PSM) and extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX) features are discussed together with the feasibility studies of the technologies Extended Coverage Global System for Mobile Communications Internet of Things (EC-GSM-IoT), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), and Long-Term Evolution for Machine-Type Communications (LTE-M).

To introduce the work on critical MTC (cMTC) the 3GPP Release 14 feasibility Study on Latency reduction techniques for Long Term Evolution is presented. It triggered the specification of several features for reducing latency and increasing reliability in LTE.

Support for cMTC is a pillar in the design of the fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) system. To put the 5G cMTC work in a context an overview of NR is provided. This includes the Release 14 NR study items, the Release 15 normative work and the work on qualifying NR, and LTE, as IMT-2020 systems.

Finally, an introduction to the MulteFire Alliance (MFA) and its work on mMTC radio systems operating in unlicensed spectrum is given. The MulteFire Alliance modifies 3GPP technologies to comply with regional regulations and requirements specified to support operation in unlicensed frequency bands.

2.1 3GPP

2.2 Cellular system architecture

2.2.1 Network architecture

2.2.2 Radio protocol architecture

2.3 From machine-type communications to the cellular internet of things

2.3.1 Access class and overload control

2.3.2 Small data transmission

2.3.3 Device power savings

2.3.4 Study on provision of low-cost MTC devices based on LTE

2.3.5 Study on cellular system support for ultra-low complexity and low throughput internet of things

2.3.6 Study on Latency reduction techniques for LTE

2.4 5G

2.4.1 IMT-2020

2.4.2 3GPP 5G

2.4.2.1 5G feasibility studies

2.4.2.2 5G network architecture

2.4.2.3 5G radio protocol architecture

2.4.2.4 NR physical layer

2.4.2.5 NR and LTE coexistence

2.5 MFA

References

2.1. 3GPP

Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is the global standardization forum behind the evolution and maintenance of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), the Long Term Evolution (LTE) and the fifth generation (5G) cellular radio access technology known as the New Radio (NR). The project is coordinated by seven regional standardization development organizations representing Europe, the United States, China, Korea, Japan, and India. 3GPP has since its start in 1998 organized its work in release cycles and has in 2019 reached Release 16.

A release contains a set of work items where each typically delivers a feature that is made available to the cellular industry at the end of the release cycle through a set of technical specifications (TSs). A feature is specified in four stages where stage 1 contains the service requirements, stage 2 a high-level feature description, and stage 3 the detailed description that is needed to implement the feature. The fourth and final stage contains the development of the performance requirements and conformance testing procedures for ensuring proper implementation of the feature. Each feature is implemented in a distinct version of the 3GPP TSs that maps to the release within which the feature is developed. At the end of a release cycle the version of the specifications used for feature development is frozen and published. In the next release a new version of each technical specification is created and edited as needed for new features associated with that release. Each release contains a wide range of features providing functionality spanning across GSM, UMTS, LTE, and NR as well as providing interworking between the four. In each release it is further ensured that GSM, UMTS, LTE, and NR can coexist in the same geographical area. That is, the introduction of, for example, NR into a frequency band should not have a negative impact on GSM, UMTS or LTE operation.

The technical work is distributed over a number of technical specification groups (TSGs), each supported by a set of working groups (WGs) with technical expertise representing different companies in the industry. The 3GPP organizational structure is built around three TSGs:

• TSG Service and System Aspects (SA),

• TSG Core Network (CN) and Terminals (CT), and,

• TSG Radio Access Network (RAN).

TSG SA is responsible for the SA and service requirements, i.e., the stage 1 requirements, and TSG CT for CN aspects and specifications. TSG RAN is responsible for the design and maintenance of the RANs. So, while TSG CT for example is working on the 4G Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and the 5G Core network (5GC), TSG RAN is working on the corresponding radio interfaces know as LTE and NR, respectively.

The overall 3GPP project management is handled by the Project Coordination Group (PCG) that, for example, holds the final right to appoint TSG Chairmen, to adopt new work items and approve correspondence with external bodies of high importance, such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Above the PCG are the seven SDOs: ARIB (Japan), CCSA (China), ETSI (Europe), ATIS (US), TTA (Korea), TTC (Japan), and TSDSI (India). Within 3GPP these standardization development organizations are known as the Organizational Partners that hold the ultimate authority to create or terminate TSGs and are responsible for the overall scope of 3GPP.

The Release 13 massive MTC (mMTC) specification work on EC-GSM-IoT, NB-IoT, and LTE-M was led by TSG GSM EGPRS RAN (GERAN) and TSG RAN. TSG GERAN was at the time responsible for the work on GSM/Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) and initiated the work on EC-GSM-IoT and NB-IoT through a feasibility study resulting in technical report (TR) 45.820 Cellular System Support for Ultra-Low Complexity and Low Throughput Internet of Things [1]. It is common that 3GPP before going to normative specification work for a new feature performs a study of the feasibility of that feature and records the outcome of the work in a TR. In this specific case the report recommended to continue with normative work items on EC-GSM-IoT and NB-IoT. While TSG GERAN took on the responsibility of the EC-GSM-IoT work item, the work item on NB-IoT was transferred to TSG RAN. TSG RAN also took responsibility for the work item associated with LTE-M, which just as NB-IoT is part of the LTE series of specifications.

After 3GPP Release 13, i.e. after completion of the EC-GSM-IoT specification work, TSG GERAN and its WGs GERAN1, GERAN2, and GERAN3 were closed and their responsibilities were transferred to TSG RAN and its WGs RAN5 and RAN6. Consequently, TSG RAN is responsible for NB-IoT and GSM, including EC-GSM-IoT, in addition to being responsible for UMTS, LTE and the development of NR.

Fig. 2.1 gives an overview of the 3GPP organizational structure during Release 16, indicating the four levels: The Organizational Partners (OP) including the regional standards development organizations, the PCG, the three active TSGs, and the WGs of each TSG.

2.2. Cellular system architecture

2.2.1. Network architecture

The cellular systems specified by 3GPP have an architecture that is divided in a RAN part and a CN part. The RAN connects a device to the network via the radio interface, also known as the access stratum, while the CN connects the RAN to an external network. This can be a public network such as the Internet or a private enterprise network. The overall purpose of the radio and CNs is to provide an efficient data transfer between the external network and the devices served by the cellular system.

Fig. 2.1  Organisational structure of 3GPP.

Although the architecture has evolved over time similar components and functions can be recognized when comparing e.g. the GSM/EDGE and LTE architectures. Fig. 2.2 shows a set of important nodes and interfaces in an LTE and a GSM/EDGE core and radio network.

In case of LTE the radio network is known as E-UTRAN, or LTE, while the CN is named the EPC. Together E-UTRAN and the EPC define the EPS. In the EPC the Packet Data network Gateway (P-GW) provides the connection to an external packet data network. The Serving Gateway (S-GW) routes user data packets from the P-GW to an evolved Node B (eNB) that transmits them over the LTE radio interface (Uu) to an end user device. The connection between the P-GW and the device is established by means of a so-called EPS bearer, which is associated with certain Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. These correspond to for example data rate and latency requirements expected from the provided service.

Data and control signaling is separated by means of the user plane and control plane. The Mobility Management Entity (MME) which e.g. is responsible for idle mode tracking is connected to the eNB via the control plane. The MME also handles subscriber authentication and is connected to the Home Subscriber Service (HSS) data base for this purpose. It maps the EPS bearer to radio bearers that provides the needed QoS over the LTE radio interface.

In the GPRS core the GGSN acts as the link to the external packet data networks. The SGSN fills a role similar to the MME and handles idle mode functions as well as authentication toward the Home Location Register (HLR) which keeps track of the subscriber information. It also routes the user data to the radio network. In an LTE network the eNB is the single infrastructure node in the RAN. In case of GERAN the eNB functionality is distributed across a Base Station Controller and the Base Transceiver Station. One of the most fundamental difference between GSM/EDGE and the EPS architectures is that GSM/EDGE supports a circuit switched domain for the handling of voice calls, in addition to the packet switched domain. The EPS only operates in the packet switched domain. The Mobile Switching Center (MSC) is the GSM CN node that connects the classic Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to GERAN. The focus of this book lies entirely in the packet switched domain.

Fig. 2.2  Illustrating the Evolved Packet System (EPS) and GSM/EDGE radio and CNs.

Section 2.4 provides an architectural overview of NR and the 5G CN.

2.2.2. Radio protocol architecture

Understanding the 3GPP radio protocol stack and its applicability to the nodes and interfaces depicted in Fig. 2.2 is a good step towards understanding the overall system architecture. Fig. 2.3 depicts the LTE radio protocol stack including the control and user plane layers as seen from the device.

In the user plane protocol stack the highest layer is an IP layer, which carries application data and terminates in the P-GW. IP is obviously not a radio protocol, but still mentioned here to introduce the interface between the device and the P-GW. The IP packet is transported between the P-GW, the S-GW and the eNB using the GPRS Tunnel Protocol (GTP).

The Non-Access Stratum (NAS) and Radio Resource Control (RRC) layers are unique to the control plane. A message-based IP transport protocol known as the Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) is used between the eNB and MME for carrying the NAS messages. It provides a reliable message transfer between the eNB and MME.

Fig. 2.3  The LTE control and user plane protocols and interfaces as seen from the device.

Originally the NAS protocol was intended to be entirely dedicated to support signaling, e.g. to attach and authenticate a device to the network. Since Release 13 the NAS may also carry user data. This exception to the general architecture was introduced as part of Control plane CIoT EPS optimization [9] feature discussed in Section 2.3.5. It is important to notice that the control plane NAS messages sent between the device and MME are transparent to the eNB.

The RRC handles the overall configuration of a cell including the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC) and physical (PHY) layers. It is responsible for the connection control, including connection setup, (re-)configuration, handover and release. The system information messages described in section 5.3.1.2 is a good example of RRC information.

The PDCP, the RLC, the MAC and the PHY layers are common to the control and user planes. The PDCP perform Robust Header Compression (RoHC) on incoming IP packets and manages integrity protection and ciphering of the control plane and ciphering of the user plane data sent over the access stratum. It acts as a mobility anchor for devices in RRC connected mode. It buffers, and in if needed retransmits, packets received during a handover between two cells. The PDCP packets are transferred to the RLC layer which handles a first level or retransmission in an established connection and makes sure that received RLC packets are delivered in sequence to the PDCP layers.

The RLC layer handles concatenation and segmentation of PDCP protocol data units (PDU) into RLC service data units (SDU). The RLC SDUs are mapped on RLC PDUs which are transferred to the MAC layer. Each RLC PDU is associated with a radio bearer and a logical channel. Two types of radio bearers are supported: signaling radio bearers (SRBs) and data radio bearers (DRBs). The SRBs are sent over the control plane and bears the logical channels known as the Broadcast, Common and Dedicated Control Channels (BCCH, DCCH, CCCH). The DRBs are sent over the user plane and are associated with the Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH). The distinction provided by the bearers and the logical channels allows a network to apply suitable access stratum configurations to provide a requested QoS for different types of signaling and data services.

MAC manages multiplexing of bearers and their logical channels with MAC control elements according to specified and configured priorities. The MAC control elements are used to convey information related to an ongoing connection such as the data buffer status report. MAC is also responsible for the random-access procedure and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) retransmissions. The MAC PDUs are forwarded to the physical layer which is responsible for the physical layer functions and services such as encoding, decoding, modulation and demodulation.

Fig. 2.4 shows the data transfer through the protocol stack. At each layer a header (H) is appended to the SDU to form the PDU, and at the physical layer also a CRC is attached to the transport block.

The GPRS protocol stack also includes the RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC and PHY layers. Although the same naming conventions are used in GPRS and LTE is should be understood that the functionality belonging to the different layers has evolved. GPRS non-access stratum signaling between the device and SGSN is defined by means of the Logical Link Control (LLC) and Sub-Network Dependent Convergence Protocol (SNDCP) protocols. LLC handles encryption and integrity protection, while SNDCP manages RoHC. This is functionality is similar to that provided by the LTE PDCP for providing compression and access stratum security. As a comparison remember that the PDCP terminates in the E-UTRAN while LLC and SNDCP terminates in the GPRS CN.

Fig. 2.4  LTE data flow.

2.3. From machine-type communications to the cellular internet of things

2.3.1. Access class and overload control

This section presents the early work done by 3GPP for GSM and LTE in the area of MTC from the very start of 3GPP in Release 99 until Release 14. UMTS is not within the scope of this overview, but the interested reader should note that many of the features presented for LTE are also supported by UMTS.

In 2007 and Release 8 TSG SA WG1 working on the 3GPP system architecture published TR 22.868 Study on Facilitating Machine to Machine Communication in 3GPP Systems [2]. It highlights use cases such as metering and health, which are still of vital interest as 3GPP continues with the 5G specification effort. 3GPP TR 22.868 provides considerations in areas such as handling large numbers of devices, addressing of devices, and the level of security needed for machine-to-machine applications.

In 3GPP TSG SA typically initiates work for a given feature by first agreeing to a corresponding set of general service requirements and architectural considerations. In this case the SA WG1 work also triggered a series of Stage 1–3 activities in 3GPP Release 10 denoted Network Improvement for Machine-Type Communications [3]. The main focus of the work was to provide functionality to handle large numbers of devices, including the ability to protect existing networks from overload conditions that may appear in a network aiming to support a very large number of devices. For GSM/EDGE the overload control features Extended Access Barring (EAB) [4] and Implicit Reject [5] were specified as part of these Release 10 activities.

Already in the Release 99 specifications, i.e., the first 3GPP release covering GSM/EDGE, support for the Access Class Barring (ACB) feature is specified. It allows a network to bar devices of different access classes regardless of their registered Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) identity. Each device is pseudo randomly, i.e., based on the last digit of their International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), configured to belong to 1 of 10 normal access classes. In addition, five special access classes are defined, and the device may also belong to one of these special classes. The GSM network regularly broadcasts in its system information a bitmap as part of the Random Access Channel Control Parameters to indicate if devices in any of these 15 access classes are barred. EAB is built around this functionality and reuses the 10 normal access classes. However, contrary to ACB, which applies to all devices, EAB is only applicable to the subset of devices that are configured for EAB. It also allows a network to enable PLMN-specific and domain-specific, i.e., packet switched or circuit switched, barring of devices. For GSM/EDGE data services belong to the packet switched domain, while voice services belong to the circuit switched domain. In GSM/EDGE, System Information message 21 broadcasted in the network contains the EAB information. In case a network is shared among multiple operators, or more specifically among multiple PLMNs, then EAB can be configured on a per PLMN basis. Up to four additional PLMNs can be supported by a network. System Information message 22 contains the network sharing information for these additional PLMNs and, optionally, the corresponding EAB information for each of the PLMNs [5].

ACB and EAB provide means to protect both the radio access and CN from congestion that may occur if a multitude of devices attempt to simultaneous access a network. The 10 normal access classes allow for ACB or EAB based barring of devices with a granularity of 10%. Because both ACB and EAB are controlled via the system information, these mechanisms have an inherent reaction time associated with the time it takes for a device to detect that the system information has been updated and the time required to obtain the latest barring information.

The GSM Implicit Reject feature introduces an Implicit Reject flag in a number of messages sent on the downlink (DL) Common Control CHannel (CCCH). Before accessing the network, a device configured for Low Access Priority [6] is required to decode a message on the DL CCCH and read the Implicit Reject flag therein. The support for low access priority is signaled by a device over the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) interface using the Device Properties information element [7] and over the Access Stratum in the Packet Resource Request message [6]. In case the Implicit Reject flag is set to 1 the device is not permitted to access the GSM network (NW) and is required to await the expiration of a timer before attempting a new access. Because it does not require the reading of the system information messages, Implicit Reject has the potential benefit of being a faster mechanism than either ACB or EAB type-based barring. When the Implicit Reject flag is set to 1 in a given downlink CCCH message then all devices that read that message when performing system access are barred from network access. By toggling the flag with a certain periodicity within each of the messages sent on the downlink CCCH, a partial barring of all devices can be achieved. Setting the flag to 1 within all downlink CCCH messages sent during the first second of every 10-s time interval will, for example, bar 10% of all devices. A device that supports the Implicit Reject feature may also be configured for EAB.

For LTE, ACB was included already in the first release of LTE, i.e. 3GPP Release 8, while the low-priority indicators were introduced in Release 10 [8]. An NAS low-priority indication was defined in the NAS signaling [15] and an Establishment Cause indicating delay tolerant access was introduced in the Radio RRC Connection Request message sent from the device to the base station [9]. These two indicators support congestion control of delay tolerant MTC devices. In case the RRC connection request message signals that the access was made by a delay tolerant device, the base station has the option to reject the connection in case of congestion and via the RRC Connection Reject message request the device to wait for the duration of a configured extended wait timer before making a new attempt.

In Release 11 the MTC work continued with the work item System Improvements for MTC [10]. In TSG RAN EAB was introduced in the LTE specifications. A new System Information Block 14 (SIB14) was defined to convey the EAB-related information [9]. To allow for fast notification of updates of SIB14 the paging message was equipped with a status flag indicating an update of SIB14. As for TSG GERAN, barring of 10 different access classes is supported. In case of network sharing, a separate access class bitmap can, just as for GSM/EDGE, be signaled per PLMN sharing the network. A device with its low-priority indicator set needs to support EAB.

Table 2.1 summarizes the GSM/EDGE and LTE 3GPP features designed to provide overload control in different releases. It should be noted that ETSI was responsible for the GSM/EDGE specifications until 3GPP Release 99 when 3GPP took over the responsibility for the evolution and maintenance of GSM/EDGE. ACB was, for example, part of GSM/EDGE already before 3GPP Release 99. Note that after Release 99, the 3GPP release numbering was restarted from Release 4.

Table 2.1

2.3.2. Small data transmission

In Release 12 the work item Machine-Type Communications and other mobile data applications communications [11] triggered a number of activities going beyond the scope of the earlier releases that to a considerable extent were focused on managing large numbers of devices. It resulted in TR 23.887 Study on Machine-Type Communications (MTC) and other mobile data applications communications enhancements [12] that introduces solutions to efficiently handle small data transmissions and solutions to optimize the energy consumptions for devices dependent on battery power.

MTC devices are to a large extent expected to transmit and receive small data packets, especially when viewed at the application layer. Consider, for example, street lighting controlled remotely where turning on and off the light bulb is the main activity. On top of the small application layer payload needed to provide the on/off indication, overhead from higher-layer protocols, for example, User Datagram and Internet Protocols and radio interface protocols need to be added thereby forming a complete protocol stack. For data packets ranging up to a few hundred bytes the protocol overhead from layers other than the application layer constitutes a significant part of the data transmitted over the radio interface. To optimize the power consumption of devices with a traffic profile characterized by small data transmissions it is of interest to reduce this overhead. In addition to the overhead accumulated over the different layers in the protocol stack, it is also vital to make sure various procedures are streamlined to avoid unnecessary control plane signaling that consumes radio resources and increases the device power consumption. Fig. 2.5 shows an overview of the message flow associated with an LTE mobile originated (MO) data transfer where a single uplink (UL) is sent between the user equipment (UE) and the eNB. It is clear from the depicted signaling flow that several signaling messages are transmitted before the uplink and downlink data packets are sent.

One of the most promising solutions for support of small data transmission is the RRC Resume procedure [9]. It aims to optimize, or reduce the number of signaling messages, that is needed to set up a connection in LTE. Fig. 2.5 indicates the part of the connection setup that becomes redundant in the RRC Resume procedure, including the Security mode command and the RRC connection reconfiguration messages. The key in this solution is to resume configurations established in a previous connection. Part of the possible optimizations is to suppress the RRC signaling associated with measurement configuration. This simplification is justified by the short data transfers expected for MTC. For these devices measurement reporting is less relevant compared to when long transmissions of data are dominating the traffic profile. In 3GPP Release 13 this solution was specified together with the Control plane CIoT EPS Optimization [9] as two alternative solutions adopted for streamlining the LTE setup procedure to facilitate small and infrequent data transmission [13]. These two solutions are highly important to optimize latency and power consumption for LTE-M and NB-IoT evaluated in Chapters 6 and 8, respectively.

Fig. 2.5  LTE message transfer associated with the transmission of a single uplink and single downlink data package. Messages indicated with dashed arrows are eliminated in the RRC Resume procedure solution [9] .

2.3.3. Device power savings

The 3GPP Release 12 study on MTC and other mobile data applications communications enhancements introduced two important solutions to optimize the device power consumption, namely Power Saving Mode (PSM) and extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX). PSM was specified both for GSM/EDGE and LTE and is a solution where a device enters a power saving state in which it reduces its power consumption to a bare minimum [14]. While in the power saving state the mobile is not monitoring paging and consequently becomes unreachable for mobile terminated (MT) services. In terms of power efficiency this is a step beyond the typical idle mode behavior where a device still performs energy consuming tasks such as neighbor cell measurements and maintaining reachability by listening for paging messages. The device leaves PSM when higher layers in the device triggers a MO access, e.g., for an uplink data transfer or for a periodic Tracking Area Update/Routing Area Update (TAU/RAU). After the MO access and the corresponding data transfer have been completed, a device using PSM starts an Active Timer. The device remains reachable for MT traffic by monitoring the paging channel until the Active timer expires. When the Active timer expires the device reenters the power saving state and is therefore unreachable until the next MO event. To meet MT reachability requirements of a service a GSM/EDGE device using PSM can be configured to perform a periodic RAU with a configurable periodicity in the range of seconds up to a year [7]. For an LTE device the same behavior can be achieved through configuration of a periodic TAU timer [15]. Compared to simply turning off a device, PSM has the advantage of supporting the mentioned MT reachability via RAU or TAU. In PSM the device stays registered in the network and may maintain its higher layer configurations. As such, when leaving the power saving state in response to a MO event the device does not need to first attach to the network, as it would otherwise need to do when being turned on after previously performing a complete power off. This reduces the signaling overhead and optimizes the device power consumption.

Fig. 2.6 depicts the operation of a device configured for PSM when performing periodic RAUs and reading of paging messages according to the idle mode DRX cycle applicable when the Active timer is running. The RAU procedure is significantly more costly than reading of a paging message as indicated by Fig. 2.6. During the Active timer the device is in idle mode and is required to operate accordingly. After the expiry of the Active timer the device again reenters the energy-efficient PSM.

Fig. 2.6  Illustration of device transitions between connected state, idle state and PSM when waking up to perform periodic Routing Area Updates.

In Release 13 eDRX was specified for GSM and LTE. The general principle for eDRX is to extend the since earlier specified DRX cycles to allow a device to remain longer in a power saving state between paging occasions and thereby minimize its energy consumption. The advantage over PSM is that the device remains periodically available for MT services without the need to first perform e.g., a Routing or Tracking Area Update to trigger a limited period of downlink reachability. The Study on power saving for Machine-Type Communication (MTC) devices [16] considered, among other things, the energy consumption of devices using eDRX or PSM. The impacts of using PSM and eDRX on device battery life, assuming a 5 Watt-hour (Wh) battery, were characterized as part of the study. More specifically, the battery life for a device was predicted for a range of triggering intervals and reachability periods. A trigger may e.g., correspond to the start of