In reading through all of the technology and MNO (mobile network operator) strategies, the question many business owners contemplate is, “Which technology should I invest in, and when should I do so?

Google the “Cycle Hype of IoT”, and there are copious eye charts of each emerging technology and productivity. It is no wonder why some companies are afraid of adopting new technologies.

There is always comfort in the known. However, even within the known technologies there is an extreme amount of movement, and with each release a faster, smarter or new wave of communication.

The pace of each dying technology is also rapidly evolving, for example 2G, 3G and 4G have already begun or will be sun setting their networks in the very near future.

If you attended any large conferences this year there is already marketing activity surrounding 5G and NB-IoT and of course the various categories of LTE (M, O, 1, etc.) These all sound like alphabet soup to me!  How do you know which category of LTE to select?  When will the hardware for that specific category be widely available? Will that category have all the frequencies you need in the US or internationally?  How long will it last before another category replaces it and what sort of network performance are you left with? There are so many questions with few answers available.

What I know, have tested and proven, is that with RPMA® (Random Phase Multiple Access) you get a network that is built for real IoT solutions that closes the gap on network and communication problems.  There is not a list of frequencies, categories and service features you have to navigate and understand from an operator perspective.  As a business owner, you get what you ask for: TRANSPORT of your data from your device to your solution, one simple selection, service!  It is pretty simple and straightforward as it should be.

But let’s return to the question at hand – which technology should a business owner invest in?   Which technology can stand the test of time? Is it possible a technology can be implemented beyond two or three years anymore?  Will a business owner need to constantly plan for this type of technology evolution and at this extreme pace?

Ingenu’s RPMA, I know, another technology acronym, a new(er) technology, but certainly tested and used by some industry giants, provides the security and communication confirmations used in IoT solutions.

RPMA has the same out-of-the-box connectivity you get with a cellular network, with security layers and redundancy, but with distinct advantages cellular doesn’t have because RPMA is designed exclusively for machines. For instance, RPMA can support 20-year battery life, something cellular couldn’t even dream of.

Is the frequency different? Absolutely. However, if you look around the world and examine the frequencies used over the last five years, there has been quite a bit of shifting as the frequencies used needed to be re-optimized for more and more users of each network. These networks have been built for consumers and the million of Android and Apple phones among others along with wireless tablets and gadgets all streaming applications, videos and other apps. It’s no wonder they are crowded and sometimes even throttled.  There have been numerous articles outlining the frequency crunch with US operators but let’s leave that to Washington to settle.   However, with RPMA, you have access to the “Machine Network” which is carefully crafted and designed to allow machines to talk to one another.  Are there millions of machines all talking together? Absolutely, but this network was designed for this traffic, navigating it carefully and efficiently. Additionally, there is no re-optimization or change for the RPMA frequency. So, you may be thinking, what happens when the next generation presents itself?  Technology updates can be managed over the air, resulting in not touching the device you have deployed.  You can simply manage your update over the air. It has been built to last.

So why now?  Technology is rapidly changing and evolving and the timeline to your next truck roll should already be a part of your business plan if you’re continuing down the cellular operator path.

If you’re looking for your next-generation device, and may be moving from an older 2G or 3G technology and want to ensure your capital investments are materialized into a long-term plan, you should think about RPMA.  Perhaps you are a new company looking for a long-term strategy to design your solution? Again, the clear answer is RPMA. With RPMA, you have a network with a proven commitment to solutions with only the machines talking to one another.

Take a walk outside your comfort zone and take a look behind the curtain and see what RPMA is really all about.  In turn, your dollars and cents will add up quickly, returns on investment will outperform and increase your bottom line and the technology will stand well beyond the next decade.