The digital revolution – network planning for the IoT

By: Shajan George, Technical Director, R&M India

All over the world people are talking about a new industrial revolution – the digital revolution. The number of objects around us that are permanently communicating with each other over the Internet is increasing all the time. And that in turn is leading to a rapid increase in the volume of data. Planners, installers and operators of data and communication networks can thus look forward to market growth in the coming years. By 2022 there will be 14 billion devices connected with data

networks worldwide– more than twice as many as today. Or at least that is what recent studies based on the in-depth examination of numerous evaluations and expert analyses by Machina Research and Bosch Software Innovations. The Gartner Group is actually forecasting 26 billion networked devices. Thus networking market will continue to grow. Retrofitting devices with sensors and embedded software to make them intelligent is becoming more and more affordable.

The Internet of Things generates innumerable approaches for new products and services.

Network Planning for the Internet of Things

In this complex environment, it is a major challenge for planners, installers and operators of both public and private networks to keep track of things. They can, however, focus on five important five spheres of activity.

Ubiquitous intelligence: Digitalization will be ubiquitous. That requires high-performance, fullcoverage Internet access and data networks. This cannot be achieved with radio technology alone.

In the background there is always efficient cabling. This is why, in the future, it is important to take the number of network connections into consideration in every building project and every technical investment. In the planning phase, you may not know what they are going to be used for. But connections and sockets have a tendency of running out quickly.

Communication from one machine to another: In the future, machines will be communicating more and more with each other in autonomous systems. Production managers have to be able to monitor and, if necessary, control autonomous industrial facilities on the other side of the globe in real time over the Internet. Every package, every pallet, every product will be equipped with an interactive chip communicating status, function and destination. Which is why networks have to be

consistent and highly resilient? The ideal case scenario would be to implement the standardized, proven Ethernet / IP concept as consistently as possible to avoid media discontinuities in the flow of information.

Communication in mega cities: In the future, many people will be living in densely populated agglomerations. They want to be using online services 24 / 7 wherever they are, whether for

working or for pleasure, transmitting videos, keeping a check on their messages or telemonitoring their homes. The cellular phone network providers have to compress their radio cells to a few hundred meters in diameter and connect the base stations with powerful backhaul FO networks.

Independently of this, city dwellers are more and more eager to have fiber optic connections with gigabit speed to the home and to the desk.

Communication in interactive working worlds: Professionals are working more and more from home as well as on the road with mobile devices. Protected high-speed connections between home, the office, the car and sports ground give people with more cerebral jobs the chance to organize their activities more flexibly. Collaborative working all round the world and simultaneous engineering in virtual teams are becoming commonplace. This represents an incredible reduction in both costs and the amount of travel.

Smart grids and smart buildings:

The planet’s resources are limited. Consumption of water, energy and raw materials can be managed far more efficiently with intelligent remote control.

Benefits of Adopting the above Networking Planning Methods

By adopting these network planning methods, the cabling and connectivity technology will be designed in such way as it is self-explanatory and repair-friendly so that network operators can easily procure and install that is likely to be successful in the market and enable growth.

Wired infrastructure will gain popularity because of the speed and reliability they offer, way more so than a wireless infrastructure. For businesses that regularly need to move a lot of data around, a wired set-up is the best way to go. FO networks will offer the most perspectives. Wired networks have to be planned and prepared to offer optimal radio coverage. Standardization of the infrastructures should be universal as the infrastructures have to include older generations of network technology.

Distribution platforms should allow easy adjustments to suit new situations in just a few easy steps and easily scalable. High product quality, faultless installation, permanent availability and loss-free signal transmission reduce the operating and maintenance costs of the networks. The networks are being set up for coming generations and therefore have to be designed to stand the test of time.