M2M & IoT Regulation

There are a number of regulatory issues that have the potential to hinder the growth of the Internet of Things, including permanent roaming, national roaming, spectrum licensing and data sovereignty. Based on Machina Research’s extensive research in this area, this Research Stream provides analysis of the current regulatory landscape, identifies expected future developments and assess the critical factors that may affect adoption of M2M and IoT.

Key themes

The topics covered by this Research Stream include the following:

• Permanent roaming – The ability to offer services globally is a critical one for supporting many vertical sectors including automotive and consumer electronics. Regulatory prohibition of permanent roaming will fundamentally influence how connectivity is provided.
• National roaming – The ability to make use of multiple networks within a territory will be useful for many M2M and IoT applications. However, regulatory positions vary with some countries prohibiting the use of national roaming.
• Spectrum licensing – Technology choices for delivering M2M and IoT services may depend on what, how, and how much, spectrum is made available. The availability of White Space might have an influence of how M2M/IoT evolves, while there are licensing issues related to the use of alternative technologies such as Low Power Wide Area (LPWA).
• Numbering – Several regulators have opted to allocate a dedicated number range for M2M. We examine the pros and cons of doing so.
• Data sovereignty – Different countries have starkly different rules about how data needs to be managed, for instance restrictions on whether the data can leave the country.
• Data privacy – There have been some very high-profile instances of regulation relating to personal data (e.g. the ‘right to be forgotten’ in the EU). Many of these issues relating to personal data privacy will have implications also for M2M and IoT.
• Other regulatory issues – There are a number of other regulatory issues, including subscriber registration and taxation that will have an impact on M2M and IoT.

Deliverables

During the course of twelve months, the anticipated deliverables for this Research Stream are the following:

• New and updated country profiles of the regulatory position regarding M2M and IoT across the key themes mentioned above, in over 80 of the top global markets.
• Research Notes examining the key trends in regulation of M2M and IoT.

Lead Analyst

The lead analyst for this Research Stream is Emma Buckland.

Latest reports in this Research Stream

M2M & IoT Regulation reports