Ofcom to create new spectrum licence for the Internet of Things

VHF and Business Radio spectrum can both be used for IoT, says regulator

Ofcom is to create a new category of spectrum licence specifically for the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communications.

The communications regulator said that it was aiming to encourage investment and innovation in IoT by providing access to spectrum, so that products and services can be connected together wirelessly.

Ofcom had published a consultation on the use of 55-68MHz, 70.5-71.5MHz and 80.0-81.5MHz for IoT services and M2M applications back in September. It wanted to know whether these very high frequency (VHF) bands were suitable for delivering IoT services in remote and rural areas, and to assess whether wide exploitation of these frequencies could be accommodated without affecting existing spectrum users.

After taking account of the views of stakeholders, the regulator concluded that spectrum in the VHF ranges was suitable for IoT/M2M applications and that those uses can be accommodated without adversely impacting other users.

Ofcom also wanted to address what it deemed a "misconception" that its existing Business Radio licence products were designed for voice-only communications, and therefore were unsuitable for M2M/IoT applications.

To tackle this issue, Ofcom is launching a new licence product later this year that will replace its existing Business Radio products and make specific provision for M2M/IoT applications.

In addition, it will also launch a dedicated information and application web page for those seeking spectrum access for the IoT. It said that it believed these measures would "clarify the wide range of spectrum which is currently available to facilitate IoT".

Ofcom said that it did not currently consider spectrum availability to be a barrier to the development of the IoT in the short to medium term. "The low data rates typical of the majority of emerging IoT applications mean that they can be supported within existing allocations and bands like those at VHF," it said.

Want to know how IoT can help your enterprise? Come to Computing's Internet of Things Business Summit 2016 - it's free for qualifying end users