Narrowband IoT explained

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]

Deployments

As of March 2019 GSA identified:^[12]

• 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^[13]
• 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^[13]
• 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.^[14] 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.^[15]

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.^[16] They then went on to partner with module manufacturer u-blox to create maker boards with NB-IoT and LTE-M integrated.^[17]

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.^[18]

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

• 6LoWPAN
• DASH7
• LTE User Equipment Categories
• LoRa/LoRaWAN
• LPWAN
• Multefire
• NB-Fi
• SCHC
• Sigfox
• Weightless
• Internet of Things (IoT)

External links

• 3GPP NB-IOT
• RP-151621

Notes and References

1. Web site: NarrowBand – Internet of Things (NB-IoT).
2. Web site: 3GPP Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) Technologies - GSMA White Paper. Grant. Svetlana. September 1, 2016. gsma.com. GSMA. 49. October 17, 2016.
3. Web site: Standardization of NB-IOT completed. June 22, 2016. 3gpp.org. 3GPP. 1. August 19, 2016.
4. Web site: Extended Coverage - GSM - Internet of Things (EC-GSM-IoT) . May 11, 2016 . gsma.com . . 1 . October 17, 2016 .
5. Web site: Ryu. Jaeku. NB-IoT Handbook.
6. Web site: Lawson . Stephen . NarrowBand IoT standard for machines moves forward . computerworld.com . . 1 . September 21, 2015 . September 24, 2015.
7. Web site: Jones . Dan . Ericsson, Intel, Nokia Back New Narrowband LTE IoT Spec . lightreading.com . . 1 . September 11, 2015 . September 24, 2015.
8. Web site: 3GPP agrees 'harmonized' proposal for narrowband IoT radio technology . Scales . Ian . telecomtv.com . TelecomTV . 1 . September 18, 2015 . September 24, 2015.
9. Web site: LTE standard for Internet of Things machines gets the green light . Lawson . Stephen . pcworld.com . . 1 . September 22, 2015 . September 24, 2015.
10. GSA: Global Narrowband IoT – LTE-M networks – March 2019 (retrieved 27 March 2019)
11. GSA: NB-IoT and LTE-MTC Global Ecosystem and Market Status (retrieved 15 October 2019)
12. GSA: Global Narrowband IoT – LTE-M networks – March 2019 (retrieved 25 March 2019)
13. https://gsacom.com/paper/iot-ecosystem-report-april19/?utm=reports4g GSA: NB-IoT and LTE-M: Global Ecosystem and Market Status, April 2019
14. GSA: IoT Ecosystem: NB-IoT and LTE-M Report: April-19
15. GSA: NB-IoT and LTE-MTC Global Ecosystem and Market Status (retrieved 15 October 2019)
16. Web site: The first NB-IoT shield for Arduino: supported by T-Mobile. Kickstarter. en. 2019-06-25.
17. Web site: SODAQ SARA AFF R410M. SODAQ. en. 2019-06-25.
18. Web site: Post . Sponsored . 2021-12-06 . Ai Thinker enters the NB-IoT LPWAN market with EC-01 modules (Sponsored) - CNX Software . 2023-03-19 . CNX Software - Embedded Systems News . en-US.