Narrowband IoT
Narrowband Internet of things(NB-IoT) is alow-power wide-area network(LPWAN)radio technologystandard developed by3GPPforcellular networkdevices and services.[1][2]The specification was frozen in3GPP Release 13(LTE Advanced Pro), in June 2016.[3]Other 3GPPIoTtechnologies includeeMTC(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 theLTEstandard, but limits the bandwidth to a single narrow-band of 200kHz. It usesOFDMmodulation for downlink communication andSC-FDMAfor uplink communications.[5][6][7][8][9]IoT applications which require more frequent communications will be better served byLTE-M,which has no duty cycle limitations operating on the licensed spectrum.
In March 2019, theGlobal 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
[edit][12][13] |
LTE Cat 1 | LTE Cat 1 bis | LTE-M | NB-IoT | EC-GSM-IoT | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LC-LTE/MTCe | eMTC | ||||||||
LTE Cat 0 | LTE Cat M1 | LTE Cat M2 | non-BL | LTE Cat NB1 | LTE Cat NB2 | ||||
3GPP release | Release 8 | Release 13 | Release 12 | Release 13 | Release 14 | Release 14 | Release 13 | Release 14 | Release 13 |
Downlink peak rate | 10 Mbit/s | 10 Mbit/s | 1 Mbit/s | 1 Mbit/s | ~4 Mbit/s | ~4 Mbit/s | 26 kbit/s | 127 kbit/s | 474 kbit/s (EDGE)
2 Mbit/s (EGPRS2B) |
Uplink peak rate | 5 Mbit/s | 5 Mbit/s | 1 Mbit/s | 1 Mbit/s | ~7 Mbit/s | ~7 Mbit/s | 66 kbit/s (multi-tone)
16.9 kbit/s (single-tone) |
159 kbit/s | 474 kbit/s (EDGE)
2 Mbit/s (EGPRS2B) |
Latency | 50–100 ms | not deployed | 10–15 ms | 1.6–10 s | 700 ms – 2 s | ||||
Number of antennas | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1–2 |
Duplex mode | Full duplex | Full or half duplex | Full or half duplex | Full or half duplex | Full or half duplex | Half duplex | Half duplex | Half duplex | |
Device receive bandwidth | 1.4–20 MHz | 1.4–20 MHz | 1.4 MHz | 5 MHz | 5 MHz | 180 kHz | 180 kHz | 200 kHz | |
Receiver chains | 2 (MIMO) | 1 (SISO) | 1 (SISO) | 1 (SISO) | 1 (SISO) | 1 (SISO) | 1 (SISO) | 1–2 | |
Device transmit power | 23dBm | 23dBm | 23 dBm | 20 / 23 dBm | 20 / 23 dBm | 20 / 23 dBm | 20 / 23 dBm | 14 / 20 / 23 dBm | 23 / 33 dBm |
Deployments
[edit]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
[edit]The3GPP-compliantLPWAdevice ecosystem continues to grow. In April 2019,GSAidentified 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 onKickstarter.[18]They then went on to partner with module manufactureru-bloxto create maker boards with NB-IoT andLTE-Mintegrated.[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 theWalterIoT board which combines an ESP32-S3 together with aSequansMonarch 2 NB-IoT/LTE-M platform. The board is focused on long-term availability and includes a GNSS receiver.
See also
[edit]- 6LoWPAN
- DASH7
- LTE User Equipment Categories
- LoRa/LoRaWAN
- LPWAN
- Multefire
- NB-Fi
- SCHC
- Sigfox
- Weightless
- Internet of Things (IoT)
References
[edit]- ^"NarrowBand – Internet of Things (NB-IoT)".
- ^Grant, Svetlana (September 1, 2016)."3GPP Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) Technologies - GSMA White Paper"(PDF).gsma.com.GSMA.p. 49.RetrievedOctober 17,2016.
- ^"Standardization of NB-IOT completed".3gpp.org.3GPP.June 22, 2016. p. 1.RetrievedAugust 19,2016.
- ^"Extended Coverage - GSM - Internet of Things (EC-GSM-IoT)".gsma.com.GSMA.May 11, 2016. p. 1.RetrievedOctober 17,2016.
- ^Lawson, Stephen (September 21, 2015)."NarrowBand IoT standard for machines moves forward".computerworld.com.Computerworld/IDG.p. 1.RetrievedSeptember 24,2015.
- ^Jones, Dan (September 11, 2015)."Ericsson, Intel, Nokia Back New Narrowband LTE IoT Spec".lightreading.com.LightReading.p. 1.RetrievedSeptember 24,2015.
- ^Scales, Ian (September 18, 2015)."3GPP agrees 'harmonized' proposal for narrowband IoT radio technology".telecomtv.com.TelecomTV. p. 1.RetrievedSeptember 24,2015.
- ^Lawson, Stephen (September 22, 2015)."LTE standard for Internet of Things machines gets the green light".PCWorld/IDG.p. 1.RetrievedSeptember 24,2015– via pcworld.com.
- ^GSA:Global Narrowband IoT – LTE-M networks – March 2019(retrieved 27 March 2019)
- ^GSA:NB-IoT and LTE-MTC Global Ecosystem and Market Status(retrieved 15 October 2019)
- ^"Preliminary specification". 3GPP.
- ^Luo, Chao (March 20, 2017)."3GGP TS45.001: GSM/EDGE Physical layer on the radio path"(ZIPped DOC).3gpp.org.14.1.0.3GPPTSG RAN WG6. p. 58.RetrievedMay 27,2017.
- ^GSA:Global Narrowband IoT – LTE-M networks – March 2019(retrieved 25 March 2019)
- ^abGSA: NB-IoT and LTE-M: Global Ecosystem and Market Status, April 2019(retrieved 24 April 2019)
- ^GSA:IoT Ecosystem: NB-IoT and LTE-M Report: April-19
- ^GSA:NB-IoT and LTE-MTC Global Ecosystem and Market Status(retrieved 15 October 2019)
- ^"The first NB-IoT shield for Arduino: supported by T-Mobile".Kickstarter.Retrieved2019-06-25.
- ^"SODAQ SARA AFF R410M".SODAQ.Retrieved2019-06-25.
- ^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.Retrieved2023-03-19.