So far so good, but in the case of M2M these modems are then built into products (e.g electricity meters, vehicles, credit card terminals etc), so additional hardware and software is added to make a complete product. On top of that some sort of central system or service application is normally needed to retrieve, handle and store data from the products.

Because of the additional complexity in a M2M applications potential problems can occur.  Below are a few examples:

- The modem is type approved, but not the complete product including system software with complete functionality – problems are discovered too late after commercial launch begins
- We did some field testing with 10-20 units and everything worked fine, but when our solution grew to thousands of units we did not understand what was needed for them to  co-exist and behave in a controlled manner in the mobile networks

In order to avoid unpredicted cost (re-visits of already deployed products or re-calling of products) it is imperative to test and validate key traffic and signaling behaviour in a test lab environment where different mobile networks can be simulated in a controlled manner, thereby allowing test situations that are hard or impossible to simulate in real life.

Customer products can be tested to dig deeper and determine things like:

• At what received signal strength does the product loose connection to the network?
• If connection to the mobile data network (GPRS) is temporarily lost, does the product re-connect as it should?
• Do handovers between cell sites or networks work correctly without lost service or data?
• How much data is used for a unique transaction, how much data is consumed for overhead signaling in a specific scenario?
• Does the connected unit handle network error codes in a correct manner?

These are just some examples of things not so easy (or even impossible) to test when connected to a live network. Tests like these have proven to be successful when developing and securing end to end communication functionality as well as and choice of aerial/antenna for optimized and cost-effective installation and operation.

Telenor Connexion encourages all our partners and customers to spend a couple of days performing tests like these in our test environment. After all, a couple of days of testing is a small effort compared to a scenario of having to re-call a multitude of deployed products.

While most alarms traditionally have used fixed telephone lines as means of communication – there has been a strong movement towards wireless technologies for both home alarms and professional alarms. There are three main drivers for wireless technologies being integrated into today’s alarm systems:

• Improved reliability – fixed lines are often used for other purposes such as fax, answering machines, DSL modems etc. which can create disturbances. A wireless connection is solely used for the intended alarm purpose – thereby securing best possible alarm connectivity.
• Cost-effective installation – installation time and cost can be reduced by using standardised wireless equipment which also implies full flexibility of the alarm location.
• Product development opportunities – increasing demands of more advanced alarm functionality such as notification, picture, video support is well in line with high-capacity mobile networks for data and voice communication. Using global GSM/GPRS standards, alarm manufactures can develop and sell cost-effective solutions with standardised connectivity solutions for multiple markets.

Telenor Connexion has been working closely with some of the leading providers of security solutions on an international level for many years. We can apply our experience to your specific product and business needs to create a valuable platform for taking your security solutions to the next step.