Australia's communications regulator has proposed changes that aim to make it easier for operators of machine to machine wireless communications to access spectrum.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority wants to remove a barrier that imposes a 500 kHz minimum bandwith for the operation of narrowband low-powered wireless networks in the 900MHz, 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz bands, to facilitate the use of low data rate M2M wireless connections.

"The limitation dates back to when this item was introduced to support spread spectrum technology using direct sequence (code division) modulation in the early 2000s," ACMA said.

"It is now considered that the existing power spectrum density limit that also applies to these items is a sufficient interference control and the bandwidth limitation can be removed.

The changes to the Radiocommunications (Low Potential Interference Devices) Class Licence 2015 would support the likes of data telemetry, machine data and monitoring, sensor networks, smart metering, security systems and industrial control, ACMA said.

Currently the LID class licence authorises radiocommunications devices like garage door openers, Bluetooth devices, wireless microphones and e-tag devices that are unlikely to cause interference to other devices.

"Realising the potential benefits from mass device and information connectivity ... depends upon appropriate regulatory settings enabling machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, reduced and/or removed barriers to adoption, as well as mitigating potential harmful activities," ACMA said.

"While there are many different projections about the likely number of connected devices in Australia, there is a growing industry consensus that IoT will be characterised by a rapid increase in the number of connected devices and a rapid evolution in the range of associated applications and services on offer as a consequence."

Allocation of spectrum was one of a number of priority areas identified by ACMA in a recent paper on the internet of things.

ACMA also listed network security and integrity, standards that support the interoperability of devices and data, and stronger technical capabilities and literacy as areas that were likely to be important in the development of IoT technologies.

Submissions on the proposed changes close on February 26 next year.