Inspiring the development needs of the radio industry driven by the Internet of Things boom

The Internet of Things was once called the sensor network. Its English name is The Internet of things, which is the “Internet of Things Connected”. Its strict definition is: through radio frequency identification (RFID) devices, infrared sensors, and global positioning systems. Information sensor devices such as laser scanners connect objects to the Internet or mobile communication networks, and eventually form a network for intelligent identification, positioning, monitoring, and management. Since the concept of the Internet of Things was first proposed by professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States in 1999, the Internet of Things technology has experienced development for about 10 years and is currently in the stage of market promotion and application. The Internet of Things is widely used in many fields such as industry, environmental protection, transportation, medical care, and logistics. It is considered to be the next trillion-level information industry following the Internet. It is generally believed that in the next 10 years or so, the Internet of Things will be applied on a large scale and will fundamentally change the face of the world.

On November 19th, 2009, Xie Feibo, director of the Radio Management Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated at the 2009 International Summit of the Wireless Technology World and Internet of Things that radio has a very important relationship with the Internet of Things and the perception network. The application space of radio technologies in the future It will be unlimited and the utilization of spectrum resources will also be greatly improved.

In January of this year, Secretary Xie Feibo said at the New Year Forum for Business Administration at Beiyou that “radio equipment in the Internet of Things requires the use of frequency resources, but large-scale use will bring great challenges to frequency and spectrum management. The radio will open an unprecedented huge market and it will also have a huge impact on the existing order. The existing rules will face tremendous reforms."

I. Challenges brought by the development of the Internet of Things to radio management

With the creation of Wuxi's "Perceive China" center, the Internet of Things has entered a phase of rapid development in China. As the vanguard of the development of the Internet of Things, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system will reach 5 billion yuan in the domestic market this year. RFID is a non-contact automatic identification technology. The system automatically recognizes target objects and obtains relevant data through radio frequency signals. In the next few years, wireless sensor devices using RFID as the core technology will be put into the market in large quantities, and are widely used in various fields such as logistics, transportation, retail, and pharmaceuticals. The more forward the IoT technology develops, the higher the demand for radio resources and the increasingly severe challenges to radio management capabilities.

1, how to do a good job of Internet of things frequency resources

With the popularization and application of existing radio services and the continuous development of new radio technologies in the future, the contradiction between the surge in spectrum usage demand and the shortage of spectrum resources is increasing. In order to alleviate the problem of frequency resource shortage, some countries have gradually shifted the frequency allocation policy from a command-control model to a market-oriented model. China has always adopted the international common command-control model to manage frequency resources. With the rapid development of the communications industry in recent years, the state is very cautious about the introduction of each spectrum policy. RFID technology has existed in China for many years. On April 20, 2007, after repeated argumentation and research, the Ministry of Information Industry issued the “Application Regulations for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology in the 8O0MHz/900MHz Frequency Band (Trial)” (No. [2007] No. 205), the division of the operating frequency of UHF band RFID wireless transmission equipment in China finally began to appear.

At present, in the frequency plan of the Internet of Things, the problems we face are: First, we must quickly formulate a frequency plan for the Internet of Things to meet the rapidly growing demand for IoT business development; second, we must increase the utilization rate of the Internet of Things and let Spectrum resources are used more effectively. Third, we must draw lessons from foreign Internet of Things frequency resource management policies and rationally introduce market mechanisms.

2, how to do a good job of Internet of things equipment management

With a large number of Internet of Things devices flocking to the market, more and more products using RFID technology, such as: electronic tags, readers, smart cards, cards, access control attendance, parking identification and other equipment.

However, these sensing devices are in fact all radio transmission devices. They all need to emit electromagnetic waves and emit electromagnetic waves. Take the electronic tag as an example, its working principle is: After the tag enters the magnetic field, it receives the RF signal from the reader, and transmits the product information stored in the chip through the energy obtained by the induced current (PassiveTag). ), or actively send a signal of a certain frequency (ActiveTag). There are many types of electronic labels and they are widely used. When a large number of electronic labels are put into the market, once their technical indicators are not qualified, the radio waves emitted by the products will not only interfere with themselves, but also interfere with other legitimate businesses. In serious cases, they will cause major security problems.

Therefore, in the management of IoT devices, we face the following problems: First, we must strictly manage the IoT devices from the source, build the first line of defense for the IoT to enter the market, and secondly, after the IoT is widely promoted and applied, Sensing equipment is widely used and radio management of these equipment must be done.

3, how to do a good job of Internet of things frequency supervision

Due to the scarcity of frequency resources, the Internet of Things band will inevitably appear close to or share with other existing service bands. In China, UHF-band RFID technology uses frequencies from 840 MHz to 845 MHz and 920 MHz to 925 MHz. In the 800/900 MHz band, existing services that are close to the RFID use frequency are: trunk communication downlink frequency band (851 MHz to 866 MHz), GSM uplink (885MHz ~ 915MHz), no center talk (915MHz ~ 917MHz), stereo broadcast transmission service (917MHz ~ 925MHz), aeronautical radio navigation services (925MHz ~ 930MHz), GSM downlink (930MHz ~ 960MHz). The 920MHz-925MHz frequency band used by RFID devices is shared with point-to-point stereo broadcast transmission services. Therefore, frequency-hopping spread spectrum measures are taken to reduce interference.

A large number of radio equipments in the same area are used at the same time. When the equipment has quality or other problems, the electromagnetic environment will become extremely complicated. It is necessary to prevent radio interference that may occur, and to quickly and effectively investigate and deal with interference sources when interference occurs, so as to maintain the order of radio waves in this frequency band.

II. Doing Radio Management Work in the Process of Internet of Things Development

In order to ensure the stable and rapid development of the Internet of Things, radio management departments must take decisive measures to make active efforts in various aspects such as frequency resource allocation, station equipment management, maintenance of radio wave order, etc., and conscientiously do a good job in each new Internet of Things. Frequency management work.

1. To have a forward-looking IoT frequency plan. The frequency plan for the Internet of Things should not only take into account the frequency needs of the recent development of the Internet of Things, but also ensure that it can meet the needs of its future technological development; not only how to improve the utilization of the spectrum, but also take into account the Internet of Things business. Compatibility with existing services; not only to support China's independent innovation of Internet of things technology research, but also be able to interface with international standards in order to facilitate the export of our products. We should take the development of the Internet of Things as an opportunity to push forward the development of China's frequency allocation policy in a more efficient direction.

2. Strengthen the management of Internet of Things equipment and explore new management models. Only by properly managing radio transmission equipment, can we ensure the order of radio waves from the source. To this end, the first is to govern from the source to prevent the proliferation of non-standard sensing equipment, actively coordinate with related departments, strengthen the management of radio equipment manufacturers and covert channels, and strictly stress the production and sales of illegal equipment. The second is to combine law enforcement inspections and annual inspections of equipment, to carry out the clean-up registration of sensing equipment, to fully grasp the use of equipment, to establish a perfect database of stations, and to standardize the use of sensing equipment; Third is to actively seek new management methods. Investigate diversified management approaches and form a more scientific and effective equipment management model to promote the widespread application of the Internet of Things.

3. Do a good job of radio electromagnetic environment supervision. We must strictly supervise the frequency of use of new services, the frequency bands in which they are located, and the compatibility of the electromagnetic environment. To achieve this, we should do the following two things: First, we must do a good job in routine monitoring of the Internet of Things band, master the occupation of radio frequency spectrum resources in this frequency band and business operations, and carefully analyze the various frequency usage and signal sources in this frequency band. For the timely and efficient investigation of various radio interference to provide a strong guarantee; Second, we must strengthen the knowledge of radio business learning, proficiency in radio monitoring and direction-finding technology, conscientiously study monitoring and direction-finding equipment parameters, and constantly improve the accuracy of the signal measurement To ensure that the interference sources can be quickly and accurately found in the search for interference signals, and maintain the order of the radio waves in the Internet of Things.

In the field of the Internet of Things, China and other developed countries are on the same starting line. The Chinese government has incorporated the Internet of Things into the country's emerging strategic industrial planning. Nowadays, the market scale of the Internet of Things (IoT) equipment has been rapidly increasing year by year. It is believed that in the future, the development of the Internet of Things will inevitably take off.