TRAI recommends Centre to classify IoT M2M as ‘critical service’, ET Telecom

New Delhi: The telecom regulator Tuesday recommended that critical IoT (internet of things) services that demand ultra-reliable low-latency machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity should be classified as a critical service by the government. Any disruption of these can cause a debilitating impact on national security, economy, public health or public safety.

M2M communications enable applications and services across a broad range of markets such as automotive, utilities, healthcare, safety and surveillance, financial, public safety, smart cities, and agriculture. The M2M ecosystem, still at an early stage, has the potential to power critical IoT services, the Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) said in its recommendations released Tuesday.

The TRAI recommended that the classification of critical IoT services of a particular domain should be done by the concerned ministry or the regulatory body in consultation with the department of telecommunications (DoT), adding that the DoT should devise an institutional mechanism to assist the concerned ministry with the classification.

The telecom regulator has also suggested a technology agnostic approach to provide critical IoT services, adding that any wireless or wired M2M communication technology should be permitted if it meets the prescribed service performance benchmarks.

To address security and privacy concerns, the regulator has recommended that M2M communication modules embedded in all IoT devices deployed in critical sectors should be notified under the framework of mandatory testing and certification of telecom equipment (MTCTE) in a phased manner.

To enable transfer of registration or authorisation of M2M service provider, TRAI recommended that the DoT should establish a framework for the transfer in case of merger, demerger, acquisition of the M2M service provider entities. It added that DoT should introduce an enabling provision for the transfer of ownership of M2M SIMs from one service provider to another.

The TRAI recommendations will now need to be considered for approval by the Digital Communications Commission (DCC), the highest decision-making body of the telecom department.

• Published On Apr 22, 2025 at 07:43 PM IST

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