Narrowband IoT is Long Range, Low Power and Low Cost
NB-IOT is newest LPWAN network, with cellular carriers planning to launch in early 2019. NB-IoT was standardized in mid-2016 by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project). It is intended for devices with low data rates, requiring much lower power for extended battery life, as well as ability to operate indoors. Although it is integrated into the LTE standard, it can be regarded as a new over the air interface.
The main goals of NB-IoT, provide network security and reliability, minimize power requirements, reduce endpoint cost. Devices in some use cases can be expected to last up to 10 years. In order to accomplish these goals, NB-IoT removes many features not required for LPWAN applications including LTE, including handover, measurements to monitor the channel quality, carrier aggregation, and dual connectivity.
NB-IoT uses the existing cellular network as the gateway, eliminating the need for users of the system to supply local gateways reducing hardware costs. Because of the increased link budget and the density of deployed cellular infrastructure, NB-IOT enabled sensors can operate in rural areas, indoors and in some cases deeply inside of buildings. The system is design to be able to handle large numbers of sensors in densely populated areas.
Some of the key use cases are:
•smart cities such as infrastructure such as street lamps or dustbins
•smart building, such as Intruder and fire alarms for homes and commercial properties
•Smart metering (electricity, gas and water)
•asset tracking
•agriculture
•Facility management services
•Connected industrial appliances such as welding machines or air compressors
Compared to other LWPAN, NB IoT is more powerful regarding long-distance coverage as well as building penetration. The higher data rates of NB-IOT also makes it ideal for implementation in applications that require quicker data throughputs than other LPWAN technologies.
Another advantage to NB-IoT is global deployment. There are many areas around the world with less LTE than the in United States. In those areas there are larger GSM deployments on which to find unused bands to leverage for NB-IoT. NB-IoT therefore could be utilized to find entry points in new markets globally.
NB-IoT can be deployed in three different operation modes:•stand-alone as a dedicated carrier
•in-band within the occupied bandwidth of a wideband LTE
•within the guard-band of an existing LTE carrier.
Currently, there a multiple companies providing carrier certified LTE-M / NB-IOT modules. In the near future, we can expect a price drop based on NB-IOT only modules making NB-IOT price competitive with other lower cost LOWPAN technologies.
One of the complexities of any cell based technology, is managing provision the device to the carrier, usually in the form a Sim or Esim card potentially creating the need for managing multiple sim card by regional area. Fortunately, there are innovative companies providing one stop worldwide Sim card provisioning and usage, cost / billing management tools.
As the number of endpoints increases exponentially we expect NB-IOT to become a major player in the IOT sensor space.