Traditional 4G wireless networks offer more capabilities than these use cases require. Additionally, IIoT applications require seamless coverage in remote environments, where staying connected consumes battery power and shortens device life.
With the advent of 5G and NB-IoT, the ratio of cellular to non-cellular connections will change dramatically. The combination is described as a rapidly evolving cellular technology that delivers low-power, efficient and cost-effective connectivity using only a small portion of the 4G LTE spectrum band.
What is Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT)?
Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) is a new rapidly developing wireless technology 3GPP cellular technology standard introduced in version 13, designed to meet the LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) requirements of the Internet of Things.
It has been classified as a 5G technology, standardized by 3GPP in 2016.
It is quickly becoming the best-in-class LPWAN technology to support a variety of new IIoT devices, including smart parking, utilities, wearables and industrial solutions.
The characteristics of NB-IoT are:
● Excellent indoor coverage
● Support a large number of connections,
● cost-effective,
●The device has low power consumption
● Optimized network architecture.
NB-IoT can efficiently connect large numbers of devices, with up to 50,000 devices per NB-IoT network unit, while minimizing power consumption and increasing coverage in locations beyond the reach of traditional cellular technologies.
How can NB-IoT better serve IIoT solutions?
NB-IoT greatly improves network efficiency, adding the ability to support large numbers of new connections using only a portion of the available spectrum. This efficiency, in turn, minimizes power consumption, resulting in battery life of more than ten years. Additionally, NB -IoT goes deep underground and into enclosed spaces, providing 20 dB coverage indoors.
Is NB-IoT safe?
The underlying technology is less complex than traditional cellular modules, simplifying OEM design, development and deployment. At the same time, it provides the same proven security and privacy features as LTE mobile networks, including support for:
● User identity confidentiality
● Entity authentication
● Data integrity
● Mobile device identification
When will the NB-IoT connectivity module be available?
The answer is now.
Thales and Huawei are leading the trend in accelerating NB-IoT and expanding the market by combining their core strengths into strategic collaboration to develop connectivity modules. By combining Thales’ expertise in cellular connectivity and digital security with Huawei’s high-performance NB-IoT chipsets, a new generation of highly efficient LPWA IoT modules is helping IoT device manufacturers reduce the cost, size and efficiency of their devices. This is just in time to meet the growing demand for NB-IoT modules, which will account for 20% of all cellular shipments by 2021, according to ABI Research. The first batch of NB-IoT commercial releases were completed in 2017 and will be rolled out globally in 2018 and beyond.
How is NB-IoT different from other LPWAN technologies such as LTE-M?
LTE-M is the industry abbreviation for “Long Term Evolution (LTE) Machine Type Communications (MTC)” and is the LPWA technology standard introduced by 3GPP in version 13. As stated by the GSMA, it is a 5G technology that supports simplified device complexity, massive connection density, low device power consumption, low latency, and provides extended coverage while allowing reuse of the LTE installed base.
LTE-M deployment can be done “in-band” within standard LTE carriers or “stand-alone” in dedicated spectrum. It utilizes free LTE spread spectrum technology. It offers a wide range of use cases, making it an attractive option for device manufacturers looking to deploy on current cellular networks.
Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) uses DSSS modulation technology to connect with LTE extension technology.
NB-IoT is very flexible and can operate in 2G, 3G and 4G frequency bands. It eliminates the need for a gateway, saving costs in the long run. It features improved indoor coverage, support for a large number of low-throughput devices, low latency sensitivity, low device power consumption, optimized network architecture, and is extremely cost-effective. Like LTE-M, NB-IoT can be deployed “in-band” within a standard LTE carrier or “stand-alone” in dedicated spectrum . In addition, NB-IoT can also be implemented in the guard band of LTE operators. Dual-mode modules supporting NB-IoT and LTE-M will be available in the future
Keywords: nb-iot dtu