In other words, the UK is now gearing up for a proper rollout next year (if everything goes well in the trial), with potential uses including rural broadband and the internet of things. Here’s what Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards said in a statement on Friday:

“Ofcom is preparing for a future where consumers’ demand for data services will experience huge growth. This will be fuelled by smartphones, tablets and other new wireless applications.

“White space technology is one creative way that this demand can be met. We are aiming to facilitate this important innovation by working closely with industry.”

The term “white spaces” refers to the gaps between heavily-used radio frequency bands. These are buffer zones that were deliberately left empty in order to stop the services using these various bands – generally TV broadcast services — from interfering with one another.

However, a few years ago people started playing around with the idea of using white spaces for digital communications. They tend to be low-frequency, which makes them ideal for sending data over long distances, and their exploitation now seems quite viable, depending on which bands are already in use in a particular geographical area.

This is why databases of frequencies and coverage are absolutely crucial to white space usage – unlike with Wi-Fi, which can be used anywhere without a license, Ofcom wants to make sure that devices using white space frequencies only do so when they can avoid interfering with surrounding bands. The devices, which will generally use cognitive radio technology in order to hop between frequencies as needed, will therefore need to get clearance from an Ofcom-approved database before they can start transmitting.

Those of you who have been following white space technology will know that Google is compiling its own database of frequency usage, and this is the sort of database that Ofcom might theoretically approve for official use in the UK.

Google’s database is currently being tested in the U.S. by the FCC, the American counterpart to Ofcom, and is also being deployed in a white space trial in Cape Town, South Africa. Meanwhile, Microsoft has already conducted tests in the UK (the Cambridge pilot) and Singapore, and is now active in Kenya. Other, similar initiatives are underway in Finland, Ireland and France.

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The final approval is largely a formality, since Weightless SIG members such as Neul, CSR, Cable & Wireless, ARM and Google have already begun working with the technology. Neul has developed its first commercial Weightless chip, and has launched an experimental smart grid network in Cambridge. Google has begun using the technology in broadband trials in South Africa.

But the approval does cement the standard, allowing the SIG’s membership to begin developing products without worrying about technical specs shifting from under them. As defined, version 1.0 of the standard is pretty flexible, allowing it to be used for any kind of machine-to-machine (M2M) communications network, whether it aggregates tiny transmissions from millions of nodes, such as in a smart grid, or utilizes a more traditional high-speed mobile data connection.

The SIG is also making some pretty astonishing claims about the technology’s capabilities: a range of up to 10 km (6.2 miles), allowing for far-flung networks; device battery life for up 10 years, which means monitoring devices could be deployed in the field for long periods of time without maintenance; and chipset costs of less $2, making the barrier of entry for including Weightless in a device extremely low.

Those three specs make up the holy trinity of wide-area M2M communications and would make the technology feasible for all but the cheapest devices in the future internet of things. But it remains to be seen whether Weightless can live up to those promises.

White spaces broadband in the U.K. is taking a different shape than in the U.S. On this side of the Atlantic, white spaces are viewed more as unlicensed broadband wireless technology — sometimes dubbed “Super Wi-Fi”. White spaces are the unused frequencies between TV transmissions, and since the TV airwaves are much more crowded in urban areas, white spaces likely will be most useful for rural broadband in the U.S.

Feature image courtesy of Cillian Storm.

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The smart city concept, which is closely related to the “internet of things”, is reliant on pervasive connectivity, drawing on what has traditionally been known as machine-to-machine (M2M) technology to hook up everything from traffic lights to public transport vehicles to the local broadband network. This usually involves the use of cellular networks.

The idea there is to be able to analyze sensor-based data from all these sources so as to better coordinate them and make cities more efficient, both to live in and in terms of energy use. For example, sensors in parking bays might help drivers find a space more easily, cutting down on the emissions that might come from driving around unnecessarily.

IBM has been working on this type of technology for a while, as have other companies such as Microsoft, Cisco Systems and Intel. Today’s deal allows IBM to plug its data-wrangling capabilities into Deutsche Telekom’s established global M2M ecosystem – DT will also handle details such as SIM card access management.

“M2M is a technology with enormous growth potential as it adds real value to our daily lives, both in business and privately,” Thomas Kiessling, Deutsche Telekom’s chief product officer said in a statement. “Our joint Smarter Cities initiative gives us the opportunity to work with cities across the globe and offer them valuable end-to-end solutions that help support public welfare as well as their economic growth in the future.”

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It may sound like another arcane bit of telco gear, but you’re likely much more familiar with policy engines than you might think. The policy server or manager is what throttles back your mobile broadband speeds when you exceed your monthly data quota, it tells your operator when you’ve been using your phone as a mobile hotspot on the sly, and it charges fees for services that some operators restrict like VoIP.

So what does a machine-to-machine (M2M) communications specialist like Jasper need with a high-powered policy engine? I put that question to Tekelec when we discussed the Jasper deal, and it turns out that policy is much more crucial to M2M and running vast networks of connected appliances and gadgets than I thought.

What it comes down to is that not all “things” in the internet of things are created equal, Tekelec Director of Strategic Marketing Joanne Steinberg said in an email interview. In the world of consumer applications, we chafe at the thought of one service or app being prioritized over another. But when we start talking about prioritizing devices, that all changes.

“For example, if I have a smartphone, a diabetes monitor, an alarm system and my child’s gaming device on a shared data plan, I may want my smartphone to have priority at certain times, and I would want my diabetes monitor and alarm system to always have a higher priority,” Steinberg said. “If I am an enterprise customer tracking multiple machines around the world, I may want my security cameras, safety and inventory tracking devices to have a higher priority than my vending machines.”

You don’t want your medical alert device to wait for a soda machine to finish uploading its inventory data before it transmits its emergency alert. Policy servers will assume the role of traffic cop not just over these millions of different connections, but the applications riding over them. A device like a security camera might normally have a low priority when it uploads its daily feeds to a video server, but when a crime is in progress the authorities need to see those video packets in real time.

What’s more, policy will pay a key role in billing for those different kinds of connections. In a world where millions of devices are always connected but only transmit intermittently, the concept of the monthly data plan goes out the window.

An individual customer could have millions of devices – for instance Amazon and its Kindles – sharing the same “quota pool,” Steinberg said, but in the case of M2M the value of a megabyte of data can vary greatly depending on the application. The amount of data an entire grid of smart utility meters could consume might be miniscule compared to the data a single tablet could eat up each month, but the utility would wind up paying far more due to the sheer number of connections supported.

“You can think of policy as the brain of the ‘Internet of Things’ because it intelligently defines the rules for all the ‘things’ that are and will be connected to the Internet based on network conditions, application and device priority, speed and bandwidth requirements, time of day and so on,” Steinberg said. “It will determine, when different devices and applications will have priority, what bandwidth and speed will be assigned, when to send alerts or new service and software updates – the list is endless!”

We’re going to see these kind of policy rules set not just in the internet of things, but in the plain old internet of phones and phones. Carriers are already weighing a new type of tiered plan, in which the tiers aren’t determined by monthly data allowances, but by service quality. It might not be much longer before we have the option to pay higher rates each month to ensure our traffic is sent via network fast lanes. Of course, if we opt not to play those higher rates, we might just get stuck in the on-ramp.

Feature image courtesy of Shutterstock user Lightspring

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NetGear will pay $138 million in cash and assume $6.5 million in liabilities as part of the transaction, which will allow the popular Wi-Fi router maker to expand beyond wired and Wi-Fi networking into the cellular market.

External modems were once Sierra’s bread and butter, but over the last five years it began to focus much more an embedded radio modules and the machine-to-machine market, making a few key acquisitions along the way. Meanwhile cellular modems are becoming more of a commodity business.

Sierra has probably seen the writing on the wall. As more smartphones and tablets come with their own hotspot capabilities there will be less need for stand-alone modems, so it’s a market it seems ready to concede to Novatel, Option and networking gear makers like NetGear.

Meanwhile, as the internet of things take shapes more and more devices will start sporting cellular radio connectivity – not just laptops and tablets but also home appliances, cars and even wearable electronics. It’s in those devices Sierra wants to embed its connectivity.

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This year’s booth is very different

I toured the booth today and while I didn’t measure it exactly, I’d estimate that 97 percent of the floor space wasn’t used to show off phones or tablets. Instead, Verizon is highlighting its Innovations Center, which it opened up in 2011, Since then, Verizon worked to get the building blocks in place so it could help partners with connected device ideas. And that’s what CES 2013 is all about for the company.

So what kind of partners and products — Verizon prefers to call them “solutions” — are in the spotlight? Through a partnership with Delphi, I saw a small OBD or on-board diagnostic module, for cars. By plugging the small device into a vehicle, it can gather heaps of data from the car ranging from engine settings to tire pressures to details about the electrical system.

A smarter connected car – no phone required

There are wired readers for such OBD modules, but why not add cellular connectivity? Without wires, a car rental agency could place these in their entire fleet of cars, for example, to monitor the vehicles for safety and maintenance.

As each car transmits its data, then, it could be aggregated in a centralized dashboard at the rental agency’s headquarters; you can’t easily do that with wires unless you want to pull every module daily and dock it.

Let’s get more efficient with our recycling pickups

I also got a glimpse at the BigBelly Solar recycling bin; not something you’d equate with a wireless company, right? It turns out that these public recycling bins — which use solar power for energy to compress waste — benefit from a cellular connection.

Each bin has sensors to monitor the level of recycled materials that are inside. With an M2M connection, the bins each report their waste capacity levels to the central recycling collection company.

If a bin is half-full or less, for example, the company doesn’t have to waste time or fuel to empty it right away. The collection company can see all of its bins on a map with green, yellow and red indicators — each representing the fullness of each bin — and route trucks only to the bins it needs to.

Look out Project Glass!

Speaking of trucks, you should soon see a new Verizon commercial with fire-trucks in it, if you haven’t already. One of the fireman in the piece is wearing a connected headset, similar to Google’s Project Glass. Because it’s connected, he can see a map or floor plan of the building on fire, presumably to help him navigate through the smoke.

This isn’t an application you’d want to use by tethering the goggles to a phone; this benefits from a dedicated wireless connection. And while it may sound far-fetched, one of Verizon’s Innovation Center partners was demonstrating a similar product meant not for consumers (darn!) but for public safety and industrial workers.

The network is waiting for connected devices of the future

I could go on and on describing what was on display: A connected athlete helmet with sensors to track hits in a football game; running shoes that upload their own data; even a smart meter that’s super smart: It can track and report energy consumption down to the individual circuit level. Oh there were some phones and traditional consumer products on display too. But they were on one small circular table that saw far fewer foot traffic during my time there.

Does everything need a dedicated cellular connection then? Certainly not and the smartphone is sure to be our hub of connectivity for some time to come. The Innovations Center, however, is enabling partners to “connectify” their products. Verizon’s just there to provide the connection itself and to help with the wireless integration. It’s up to the visionaries outside of Verizon to imagine how products and solutions can benefit from a robust wireless network.

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A Chicago-based startup called MiGym, however, wants to weave a tighter-knit relationship between the gym and its customers, benefiting active exercisers and the less motivated alike. It’s developed a smartphone app platform used by health clubs across the country. The app doesn’t just create a smartphone presence for a gym, it seeks to engage its members more actively. It uses social networking to connect members with similar sporting interests and exercise regimes, and it allows them to view, book and manage classes.

George Monical, who heads up the MiGym division of Chicago app development shop Solstice Mobile, said he has even bigger ambitions for the app. Soon MiGym’s dozens of national and regional health club chains will be able to start tracking workout data. MiGym is tapping into APIs offered by gym equipment makers like Life Fitness and exploring ways of quantifying the health benefits of more traditional workouts from aerobics classes to free weights — tying them all into a single unified workout tracking tool.

It’s a neat idea, but not one that’s very useful if all of that info is trapped inside your gym app — it would become just one more disparate repository of health information. But Monical said MiGym believes strongly in the concept of the quantified self (subscription required), and it aims to incorporate its apps into the overall fitness data ecosystem, Monical said. In addition to working with Life Fitness, its tapping into the APIs of Fitbit (see disclosure) and Runkeeper as well as any source of open health data it can get its hands on.

The idea is that MiGym will accept information for its own app and share it with other apps, Monical said. So if you take a three-mile run in the park tracked by an external app or device, those steps run and calories will be included in MiGym’s meters. Conversely, any data taken from the gym, whether it’s scooped directly out of an elliptical trainer or approximated from a kickboxing class, could be funneled into any outside fitness portal, Monical said.

Eventually, MiGym wants to explore direct partnerships with the healthcare industry, transmitting information to your doctor or — with permission — to your insurer. If State Farm and Allstate can track use machine-to-machine technology to track your real driving behavior and consequently reward safe drivers with lower premiums, Monical asked, why can’t health insurers do the same thing, granting lower rates to people who keep in shape?

Disclosure: Fitbit is backed by True Ventures, a venture capital firm that is an investor in the parent company of this blog, Giga Omni Media. Om Malik, founder of Giga Omni Media, is also a venture partner at True.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock user Kzenon

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Moj.io, a current project trying to raise $100,000 in funding on Indiegogo, takes advantage of the OBD, or on-board diagnostics, port found in all cars built on or after 1995. The ODB port is mainly intended for auto shops to connect to and get information from a vehicle’s computer to assist with diagnosing problems. But it can be used in a real-time mode for data such as speed, fuel levels and more.

Getting at that data is only part of the solution, however. The small Moj.io module integrates both a GPS and cellular radio to gather location information and for connectivity. The GSM radio inside uses T-Mobile’s network for M2M, or machine to machine, data transfers, sending data up to the cloud.

From there it’s accessible through a smartphone app and the Moj.io team already has eight in mind:

1. Family Connect can notify you when another driver in the household exceeds a pre-set speed limit. (Sorry teens!)
2. Drive Smart disables incoming texts and calls when the car is in motion. You can allow incoming calls from three pre-determined contacts, however.
3. Vehicle Locate does what it says: Shows your vehicle on a map and provides walking directions to it.
4. Tow Alert notifies you if your car is broken into or being towed away.
5. Mileage Tracker eliminates the need to manually track miles for business expensing.
6. Auto Text is perhaps the most impressive to me. Upon starting a drive, the app checks your calendar for any appointments within the next hour. It can then send a text message to any meeting participants, telling them how far away you are and when you should arrive.
7. Virtual Mechanic provides basic diagnostic information and fuel levels.
8. Good Driver Points sounds like a rewards system that will earn perks in the future.

To back the project as an early adopter and get the lowest price will cost $89 which is a $60 savings over the expected retail price. There’s more to the system than just the module though: Expect to pay $7.99 per month to cover the Moj.io’s cellular service. Again, backing early will save you some money: You’ll get three months service for free. And all backers will get a special yearly subscription price of $79 to cover the connectivity.

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As more details emerged this week about Velocity, it’s becoming apparent that Sprint is playing the role of a systems integrator, buying the technologies of several connected car vendors and assembling them into a complete package for its automotive customers. So far it’s tapped Airbiquity, which has developed software that bridges smartphone and vehicle apps; Aeris Communications, an M2M connectivity platform designer; and WirelessCar, a telematics company specializing in automotive applications.

But Sprint spokesman Walter Fowler said the carrier has many partners it hasn’t yet announced, each helping handle a different Velocity component, from navigation to infotainment app development. What does Sprint bring to the table then? Well, one component is connectivity. As automakers start injecting their vehicles with more remote diagnostic and command control capabilities — such as monitoring of electric vehicle battery charges, or the ability to lock and unlock your doors from across the city – they’ll need embedded radio modules.

“Not only do we want to play that part in the U.S., we have the global relationships to make it work internationally,” Fowler said. But Sprint that’s only a small part what Sprint hopes to sell with Velocity, Fowler said. Connected car services will need to be provisioned, apps distributed, customers billed and developers managed. In many ways cars are like big phones, and Sprint is accustomed to managing networks of millions of phones. That expertise is what Sprint will ultimately sell to automakers, Fowler said, even if it means sacrificing the network connectivity contract.

Network agnosticism is a bold claim for a carrier, which typically measures its success in subscriptions. But Airbiquity VP of marketing Leo McCloskey said it was an inevitable step. While many cars will eventually have some kind of embedded connectivity, they’ll be the lowest order links — simple 2G modules providing baseline data for remote command and control apps. The real money will be will in the infotainment and advanced multimedia features hosted in the dash, which will require mobile broadband connections.

Though carriers like Verizon Wireless are still hoping that automakers will embed LTE in their vehicles, Detroit automakers and many of their international counterparts have adopted a bring-your-connectivity approach to those more advanced bandwidth-intensive features. And since car makers can’t control what smartphones their customers bring to their vehicles, they can’t control which networks will eventually connect their cars.

“This is going to be the biggest psychological jump carriers must take,” McCloskey said. “You can no longer care about who provides the connectivity.”

So far Sprint’s new approach seems to appeal to at least one automaker. Chrysler has committed to using Velocity in its UConnect Access system, the connected version of its UConnect infotainment platform, in the 2013 Ram 1500 pickup and in the new STR Viper testosterone wagon. This isn’t just a bare-bones system either. Wired Autopia got to play with the new vehicles, finding everything from remote lock/unlock and engine start, 911 assist and Wi-Fi hotspot capabilities, web-connected vehicle navigation and cloud-connected voice command and control functions – all connected back to a tethered smartphone.

Car mouse image courtesy of Shutterstock user Mopic

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