Numbering Alternatives Sought to Spur Machine-Only Communications
GENEVA -- Administrations and operators in ITU-T are searching for new approaches to satisfy heavy numbering and addressing demands for machine-to-machine communications, which may strain national numbering resources. M2M applications have increased rapidly in recent years, said a draft report by the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations that defines them as automated data communication between two or more entities.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
A rough estimate of the annual growth in demand for numbers by M2M applications is 20 percent through 2020, said the report, which is intended to help national regulators deliberate on ways to avoid exhausting current numbering ranges. Various approaches are being discussed through Nov. 18 in an ITU-T study group on numbering and routing.
Numbering for M2M applications is at an early stage of development in most countries, the report said. Best practices don’t exist, it said. The report, approved in July and circulated publicly for comment, prompted 11 responses, which aren’t public, said an official who helped prepare the report. The comments are being folded into a final version due for release this month, he said.
An M2M numbering policy should be flexible enough to cope with the uncertainty of IPv6 deployment, it said, saying IPv6 addressing is expected to become a significant factor long term. A significant number of CEPT administrations don’t have enough capacity in current number plans to accommodate M2M application requirements, it said.
Regulators and industry should develop a flexible numbering plan for the short and long run, the report said, outlining four options. One idea is to use existing mobile number ranges. Other approaches involve using a new number range, an international number range possibly assigned by the ITU or network internal numbers unregulated in many countries. The approaches could be used separately or in combination to build on strengths and offset weaknesses for interconnection, practical and regulatory aspects, it said.
Numbering and addressing solutions should be geared toward servicing the increasing variety of terminal devices, NTT told the group. Views compiled from a public consultation in Japan suggested the use of a non-numeric option, a “Domain + IPv6 Address” solution defined by carrier networks separately from the Internet. 3GPP has started a study on “Possible Alternatives for E.164 Number Usage,” NTT said. E.164 is the international public telecom numbering plan.
The Netherlands proposed amending allocation principles in ITU-T recommendation E.212, the international identification plan for public networks and subscriptions, to allow users other than operators of public networks access to Mobile Network Codes (MNC). The Netherlands posed key questions about how E.212 identifiers will be managed with the emergence of substantial machine-only services, a U.S. executive said. The numbering is a matter of significant interest in many jurisdictions, he said.
The dependence of M2M operators on mobile network providers is significant, the Netherlands said. Using mobile networks implies that M2M applications will have to use E.212 numbering resources, requiring SIM cards in devices for access to the mobile network provider’s network, the Netherlands said. The dependence could be partly reduced by opening access for parties other than mobile network or virtual mobile network operators, the Netherlands said, referring to M2M and private network operators.
Current numbering policies guided by the ITU-T recommendation don’t allow allocation of MNCs to private networks, the Netherlands said. An International Mobile Subscription Identities number isn’t appropriate for this use, because it’s connected to SIM cards that would have to be switched out if the mobile provider were changed, the Netherlands said. The procedure would be too costly for smart metering or eCall applications, it said.
Having an MNC would increase M2M operators’ bargaining power in negotiations with mobile providers, the Netherlands said, most importantly for roaming agreements. The Netherlands cautioned that dealing with the resource problem and the possibility of opening access to MNCs by other parties are national matters. The various national approaches may have ramifications for the stability of practices under the ITU-T recommendation if M2M uptake continues and more players enter the market, the Netherlands said.