Wireless Device-to-Device (D2D) Links for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Communication

Device-to-Device (D2D) communications will play an important role in the fifth generation (5G) cellular networks, by increasing the spatial reuse of spectrum resources and by enabling communication links with low latency. D2D is composed of two fundamental building blocks: proximity discovery and direct communication between nearby users. Another emerging trend in wireless cellular systems is Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications, often characterized by fixed, low transmission rates. In this chapter we motivate the synergy between D2D and M2M, and present technologies that enable M2M-via-D2D communication to operate as an underlay to the ordinary cellular transmissions.