A new oneM2M whitepaper argues an open standards approach would be the key for communication service providers (CSPs) to gather revenue related opportunities coming from IoT applications that make use of low power wide area (LPWA) networks.

The whitepaper, titled “Boost LPWA revenue through oneM2M”, is a part of oneM2M’s ongoing work that aims to speed up mass deployment of IoT which is said to add value to both CSPs as well as end-users. In case of IoT, open standards were formulated after enterprises that deployed IoT connections in the initial phase found themselves restricted by a vertical approach to platform management.

The whitepaper talks about the importance of normalising data from multiple devices within one platform (a common IoT service layer), which is agnostic of hardware and connectivity type. This provides app developers with the confidence to develop new and innovative services through easy-to-use application programming interfaces. By teaming up with these developers and device manufacturers through oneM2M use, CSPs can add value in the app space.

Dr. Omar Elloumi, technical plenary chair at oneM2M, said: “While the latest figures from Analysys Mason suggest there could be 3.4 billion LPWA connections by 2025, the forecasted revenue per connected device is relatively low unless CSP strategies to tap into the larger revenue opportunity provided through application enablement become mainstream.

“With the recent ramp-up of LPWA deployments worldwide, we have seen an increasing number of CSPs adhering to the oneM2M value proposition, but they will need to expedite their strategies to improve the value they are seeing from the IoT. oneM2M provides a great opportunity to monetise LPWA, effectively making it application developer-centric.”