This book has introduced the Weightless standard, setting out the need for a wide-area wireless machine communications network and explaining how the advent of white space spectrum has provided the last piece of the puzzle needed to make such a network reality. However, the mix of very particular requirements for machine communications and the need to operate under complex rules and challenging interference within white space has led to the need for a bespoke new technology. Chapters in this book, and the standard, set out in detail the design decisions for Weightless, the specifics of the network, the base stations, the medium access layer and the physical layer. Subsequent chapters demonstrate how Weightless could be deployed in a nationwide network and the coverage, capacity and business case that would result from such a deployment. Finally, we concluded by looking at some of the key applications for Weightless and how they could be served by the standard.

Weightless is a unique technology. It could enable smart energy, smart cities, healthcare solutions to allow people to live at home longer and much more. It can generate excellent returns for those that make and deploy the technology and those that deliver applications using it. And, by providing the enablers to address climate change and the aging population, it might just save the world.