Narrowband_IoT

Narrowband IoT

Narrowband IoT

Radio technology standard

Narrowband Internet of things (NB-IoT) is a low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) radio technology standard developed by 3GPP for cellular network devices and services.[1][2] The specification was frozen in 3GPP Release 13 (LTE Advanced Pro), in June 2016.[3] Other 3GPP IoT technologies include eMTC (enhanced Machine-Type Communication) and EC-GSM-IoT.[4]

NB-IoT focuses specifically on indoor coverage, low cost, long battery life, and high connection density. NB-IoT uses a subset of the LTE standard, but limits the bandwidth to a single narrow-band of 200kHz. It uses OFDM modulation for downlink communication and SC-FDMA for uplink communications.[5][6][7][8][9] IoT applications which require more frequent communications will be better served by LTE-M, which has no duty cycle limitations operating on the licensed spectrum.

In March 2019, the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) announced that over 100 operators had either NB-IoT or LTE-M networks.[10] This number had risen to 142 deployed/launched networks by September 2019.[11]

3GPP LPWAN standards

More information LTE Cat 1, LTE Cat 1 bis ...

Deployments

As of March 2019 GSA identified:[14]

  • 149 operators in 69 countries investing in one or both of the NB-IoT and LTE-M network technologies
  • 104 of those operators in 53 countries had deployed/launched at least one of the NB-IoT or LTE-M technologies of those, 20 operators in 19 countries had deployed/launched both NB-IoT and LTE-M[15]
  • 22 countries are now home to deployed/launched NB-IoT and LTE-M networks
  • 29 countries are home to deployed/launched NB-IoT networks only
  • Two countries are home to deployed/launched LTE-M networks only
  • 141 operators in 69 countries investing in NB-IoT networks; 90 of those operators in 51 countries had deployed/launched their networks[15]
  • 60 operators in 35 countries investing in LTE-M networks; 34 of those operators in 24 countries had deployed/launched their networks

Devices and modules

The 3GPP-compliant LPWA device ecosystem continues to grow. In April 2019, GSA identified 210 devices supporting either Cat-NB1/NB-2 or Cat-M1 – more than double the number in its GAMBoD database at the end of March 2018.[16] This figure had risen a further 50% by September 2019, with a total of 303 devices identified as supporting either Cat-M1, Cat-NB1 (NB-IoT) or Cat-NB2. Of these, 230 devices support Cat-NB1 (including known variants) and 198 devices support Cat-M1 (including known variants). The split of devices (as of September 2019) was 60.4% modules, 25.4% asset trackers, and 5.6% routers, with data loggers, femtocells, smart-home devices, and smart watches, USB modems, and vehicle on-board units (OBUs), making up the balance.[17]

In 2018 first NB-IoT data loggers are other certified devices started to appear. For example ThingsLog released their first CE certified single channel NB-IoT data logger on Tindie in late 2018.

To integrate NB-IoT into a maker board for IoT developments, SODAQ, a Dutch IoT hardware and software engineering company, crowdfunded an NB-IoT shield on Kickstarter.[18] They then went on to partner with module manufacturer u-blox to create maker boards with NB-IoT and LTE-M integrated.[19]

Since 2021, there also is a cheap all-in-one NB-IoT solution available to the general public developed by the Chinese manufacturer Ai-Thinker.[20]

At the beginning of 2023 the Belgian company DPTechnics released the Walter IoT board which combines an ESP32-S3 together with a Sequans Monarch 2 NB-IoT/LTE-M platform. The board is focused on long-term availability and includes a GNSS receiver.

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "NarrowBand – Internet of Things (NB-IoT)".
  2. [2]
    Grant, Svetlana (September 1, 2016). "3GPP Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) Technologies - GSMA White Paper" (PDF). gsma.com. GSMA. p. 49. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  3. [3]
    "Standardization of NB-IOT completed". 3gpp.org. 3GPP. June 22, 2016. p. 1. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  4. [4]
    "Extended Coverage - GSM - Internet of Things (EC-GSM-IoT)". gsma.com. GSMA. May 11, 2016. p. 1. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  5. [5]
    Ryu, Jaeku. "NB-IoT Handbook".
  6. [6]
    Lawson, Stephen (September 21, 2015). "NarrowBand IoT standard for machines moves forward". computerworld.com. Computerworld / IDG. p. 1. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  7. [7]
    Jones, Dan (September 11, 2015). "Ericsson, Intel, Nokia Back New Narrowband LTE IoT Spec". lightreading.com. LightReading. p. 1. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  8. [8]
    Scales, Ian (September 18, 2015). "3GPP agrees 'harmonized' proposal for narrowband IoT radio technology". telecomtv.com. TelecomTV. p. 1. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  9. [9]
    Lawson, Stephen (September 22, 2015). "LTE standard for Internet of Things machines gets the green light". PCWorld / IDG. p. 1. Retrieved September 24, 2015 – via pcworld.com.
  10. [10]
    GSA: Global Narrowband IoT – LTE-M networks – March 2019 (retrieved 27 March 2019)
  11. [11]
    GSA: NB-IoT and LTE-MTC Global Ecosystem and Market Status (retrieved 15 October 2019)
  12. [12]
    "Preliminary specification". 3GPP.
  13. [13]
    Luo, Chao (March 20, 2017). "3GGP TS45.001: GSM/EDGE Physical layer on the radio path" (ZIPped DOC). 3gpp.org. 14.1.0. 3GPP TSG RAN WG6. p. 58. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  14. [14]
    GSA: Global Narrowband IoT – LTE-M networks – March 2019 (retrieved 25 March 2019)
  15. [15]
    GSA: NB-IoT and LTE-M: Global Ecosystem and Market Status, April 2019 (retrieved 24 April 2019)
  16. [16]
    GSA: IoT Ecosystem: NB-IoT and LTE-M Report: April-19
  17. [17]
    GSA: NB-IoT and LTE-MTC Global Ecosystem and Market Status (retrieved 15 October 2019)
  18. [18]
    "The first NB-IoT shield for Arduino: supported by T-Mobile". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  19. [19]
    "SODAQ SARA AFF R410M". SODAQ. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  20. [20]
    Post, Sponsored (2021-12-06). "Ai Thinker enters the NB-IoT LPWAN market with EC-01 modules (Sponsored) - CNX Software". CNX Software - Embedded Systems News. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
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