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Friday, July 20, 2018

T-Mobile puts NB-IoT in the guardband

By Nick Flaherty www.flaherty.co.uk

T-Mobile has launched a cellular Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) service across the US by using the guardband of existing 4G spectrum links. 

“NB-IoT is the globally-preferred standard to power the rapidly expanding world of IoT applications,” said Neville Ray, Chief Technology Officer at T-Mobile. “So of course, T-Mobile is the first to bring NB-IoT to the US, lighting up new capabilities to connect massive numbers of devices at low cost.”

Built on the 3GPP standard, NB-IoT is a low power, wide area network (LPWAN) LTE-Advanced technology that provides a pathway to 5G IoT and offers many comparable benefits like low power usage, long battery life and low device cost. T-Mobile was the first to trial NB-IoT in the US last year.

Putting the NB-IoT channels in the guard bands of existing services allows T-Mobile can use existing spectrum resources most efficiently, and IoT applications don’t have to compete with other data traffic for network resources. T-Mobile worked with Ericsson, Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies to deploy nationwide NB-IoT, laying the foundation for the 5G future and giving partners and customers peace of mind that their solutions are future proof.

NB-IoT is ideal for smart applications that can track high value assets, optimize utilization of equipment in the field and help ensure safety and compliance in fleet management, waste management, energy utility monitoring and many other industrial sectors. In addition to reducing costs and improving efficiency, partners are building IoT solutions that have the potential to alleviate traffic congestion, improve food safety and so much more.
T-Mobile’s NB-IoT plan costs just $6 a year – one tenth of Verizon’s Cat-M plans, it says – for up to 12 MB per connected device, and several NB-IoT modules based on Qualcomm MDM9206 LTE IoT modem are certified for use on T-Mobile’s network. 

The plan includes 10 single-packet transactions per hour at up to 64 Kbps, up to 12 MB. For applications that require more bandwidth and voice, T-Mobile also offers Cat-1 IoT Access Packs. 

The carrier also announced its new partner program, T-Mobile CONNECT, to help IoT solution providers collaborate and bring their products and services to market on the network

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