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2.6 Networks and Communication 75
symmetric (true M2M) access to Billions of smart things. It will pave the way
to new models of IoT interconnection and integration. It is raising numerous
questions: How can the Internet infrastructure cope with a highly heterogeneous
IoT and ease a global IoT interconnection? How interoperability will
happen with legacy systems? What will be the impact of the transition to IPv6
on IoT integration, large scale deployment and interoperability? It will probably
require developing an IPv6-based European research infrastructure for
the IoT.
2.6.1.8 Green Networking Technology
Network technology has traditionally developed along the line of predictable
progress of implementation technologies in all their facets. Given the enormous
expected growth of network usage and the number of user nodes in the
future, driven by the Internet of Things, there is a real need to minimize the
resources for implementing all network elements and the energy being used
for their operation [95].
Disruptive developments are to be expected by analysing the energy
requirements of current solutions and by going back to principles of communication
in wired, optical and wireless information transfer. Research done
by Bell Labs [96, 97] in recent years shows that networks can achieve an
energy efficiency increase of a factor of 1,000 compared to current technologies
[98].
The results of the research done by the GreenTouch consortium [96] should
be integrated into the development of the network technologies of the future.
These network technologies have to be appropriate to realise the Internet of
Things and the Future Internet in their most expanded state to be anticipated
by the imagination of the experts.
2.6.2 Communication Technology
2.6.2.1 Unfolding the Potential of Communication Technologies
The research aimed at communication technology to be undertaken in the coming
decade will have to develop and unfold all potential communication profiles
of Internet of Things devices, from bit-level communication to continuous