Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) technology in a mobile network. NB-IoT Low-Power and Wide-Area Standard, LPWA Energy Efficient Long Range Network

A comprehensive solution for the "Internet of Things" in the housing and communal services was met with skepticism: they say, how many companies have already been noted here, but meter readings still have to be written off manually! However, in this case, it is worth taking a closer look at what is happening - and the more closely, the closer you are to the housing and communal topic. I will not claim that this particular solution will become the market leader in the foreseeable future, and even that it will work in your house / houses. But it's time to understand it and its analogues - no doubt, because this will help save money and improve the quality of housing stock management.

Actually, the news is short: Megafon, together with Huawei and the Big Three, already this year plans to offer management companies and enterprises in the LCD sector in general a product that implements remote collection of information from smart meters (easily adaptable for other smart devices). at home). How is it done? It looks like solutions that have already been implemented - for example, the Russian brand "": a radio module is connected to the meter, regularly transmitting readings to a server located a few kilometers from the house.

The difference is that Megafon and its partners have chosen the NB-IoT standard for data transfer. What benefits this particular standard promises will be discussed below, but for now, let's dwell in more detail on the very problem of remote collection of household meter readings.

Forget about "smart" devices, "Internet of things" and other tricky terms for a moment. Take out your smartphone, think about how it works. You are almost certainly using a mobile Internet service. The speed of such a connection is comparable to wired Internet: if you wish, you can download not only web pages, but also listen to music, watch videos, even transfer videos! However, we got all these charms for a reason, we have to pay for them. And I mean, first of all, not money, or rather, not only money.

The high data transfer rate greatly limits the number of subscribers that can be served by one "cell" of the telecom operator. We all faced this limitation, for example, on a day off in a shopping center: there seems to be a connection, but not to get through! Then, a lot of energy is spent on such a transfer - that's why the smartphone's battery is enough for a couple of days. Also, the electronics that carry out such a transmission are expensive. Finally, the communication range is small and the denser the building, the less it is. In sum, all this translates into the need for the operator to use expensive equipment for organizing “cells” and, accordingly, into expensive tariffs for subscribers.

Now imagine a household meter - water, say, or electricity, gas, heat. How much information does it generate per day? Yes, a small amount! Hundreds of bytes, if you take readings, for example, hourly: for comparison, one page with this article "weighs" thousands of times more! And how do you order to transfer these several hundred bytes to the server, if suddenly we decide to save the tenant from having to write off the testimony and hand it over manually? Over the Internet, of course, and almost certainly over the wireless.

The cheapest thing seems to be to attach a regular phone to each counter. But here their shortcomings emerge: they are expensive, short-range, one "cell" can serve only a small number of them. For counters, some other data transfer standard is clearly needed, which would have the opposite properties: let the transfer rate be low, but it is cheap to operate!

It is this standard that NB-IoT, chosen by MegaFon and partners, is. The industrial consortium 3GPP stands behind it - that is, the very companies that gave us GSM, GPRS and EDGE, LTE. Just for information: the abbreviation NB-IoT, although it looks creepy, is deciphered easily. NB is a narrow band, that is, a "narrow band": it means that a transmitter operating using this technology takes up relatively little space on the air and can, without interfering, work in the same range with cell phones. IoT is the internet of things, that is, the "Internet of things": the standard is designed to connect not people to the Internet, but "smart" devices.

Any device equipped with an NB-IoT module behaves like a cell phone: it also communicates with the operator’s “cell” and transfers some data there. The difference from a phone is that the data volumes and speed are small (hundreds or thousands of bytes per second), and this makes it possible to put tens of thousands of such devices on one “cell”, to provide greater “penetrating power” (building density does not affect so much) , and achieve several years of operation without changing the battery. Another important factor: the cost of such a radio module is around 300 rubles, that is, it is basically unprofitable to steal it - carry more.

In fact, of course, NB-IoT is not the only option in the class of low-energy networks (LPWAN, as networks designed to exchange data with smart devices are called). There are more than a dozen standards and developments that claim to be a standard - from still very crude theoretical ones to those already being implemented (such as LoRaWAN, backed by IBM, or the domestic "Swift"). But it is important to understand that in most cases these technologies involve the installation of auxiliary equipment for collecting data from one or more houses: a special radio station serving houses within a radius of hundreds of meters to tens of kilometers. This in itself increases the cost of the solution.

NB-IoT does not need such equipment: remember, it works like a cell phone, communicating directly with the “cells” of the telecom operator. For customers, this option is both easier and cheaper. And given the authority of companies promoting NB-IoT in Russia, it is even more worth paying special attention to it. Therefore, when such products appear on sale - take a closer look at them!

What benefits can be brought by the mass installation of meters at home that take readings via NB-IoT? For management companies and homeowners associations who steal money through manipulation of meter readings, none. But for such counters - an extremely profitable thing. The fact is that you can equip the housing stock with them almost for nothing - in the sense that the cost of the radio module is almost invisible against the background of the price of the meter itself, and no more equipment is required! After all, the data from the meters go immediately to the telecom operator, and from there to the server of the Criminal Code / Homeowners' association, where they are processed.

Thus, accounting in a house with a minimum of costs becomes almost ideal. “Smart” meters that take readings on their own prevent “chemizing” with readings, detect unnoticed leaks and chronic leaks, and radically reduce general house needs. All this is beneficial primarily to the residents themselves, but also to the management company: more accurate accounting - fewer problems, better image of managers. This is why, in the net result, NB-IoT seems to be the favorite of the “Internet of things” in the housing and communal sector. It remains to wait for its official launch in Russia, which should happen in the coming months.

P.S. Used graphic works GSMA , Huawei .

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MegaFon, in partnership with Huawei and the Big Three, held on March 9 at its office in Moscow a public test of the operation of smart meters for housing and communal services, the readings of which are transmitted using NB-IoT technology. Natalia Taldykina, Director of Corporate Business Development at MegaFon, called the event "a historic day for the Internet of Things in Russia." In the very near future, the operator plans to launch an NB-IoT test zone in one of the Russian regions.

Testing was carried out directly on the working network of MegaFon. The test setup included two water meter sensors (cold and hot water) that were connected to an external NB-IoT modem, as well as an electricity meter with an integrated NB-IoT chip. At the same time, as was emphasized, due to the small size of the NB-IoT modem and the battery that powers it, it can be easily integrated into almost any meter manufactured today without changing its form factor.

MegaFon plans to supply a turnkey solution, including both the meters themselves and the system for collecting and analyzing readings. This solution was created jointly with the Big Troika company, a Russian developer of information systems in the housing and communal services sector. Artem Sedov, General Director of the Big Three Group of Companies, noted: “The current housing and communal services reform aims to improve the efficiency of energy use and ensure transparency in the calculation of payments. Connecting metering devices with remote readings should solve these issues for citizens and management companies and provide an accessible and convenient tool for managing and controlling the consumption of utilities.”

The demonstrated solution is based on NB-IoT technology, and already this year MegaFon, together with Huawei, plans to put into commercial operation a network that supports this technology. According to Marat Nureyev, Sales and Marketing Director of Huawei IoT Solutions in Russia, NB-IoT is the most promising technology for wireless access in the IoT field. The energy efficiency of NB-IoT allows connected devices to work up to 10 years without replacing the battery, the used frequency range guarantees uninterrupted data transmission even in rooms with difficult mobile signal reception, and the low price of the radio module ensures competitive implementation costs. Experts predict that with the start of mass production of NB-IoT chips (and this should happen at the end of 2017 or in 2018), their addition will have little effect on the cost of metering devices.

NB-IoT was developed with cellular operators in mind and has been standardized by the 3GPP as an option for connecting IoT devices. But even among the 3GPP standards, this is not the only technology for IoT. The EC-GSM-IoT technology (or simply EC-GSM) is intended for the same purpose. By the way, MTS, a competitor of MegaFon, announced in June 2016 on the sidelines of the XX St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that it had signed an agreement with Ericsson, under which, in particular, it is planned to test EC-GSM technology to ensure the operation of M2M devices on MTS networks.

Meanwhile, there are a large number of wireless technologies for IoT, which are developed and developed by companies that are not associated with the cellular market. Unlike NB-IoT and EC-GSM, these technologies operate on unlicensed frequencies. The most famous among them are LoRa, and in Russia also Strizh, developed by the company of the same name. The Journal of Network Solutions/LAN conducted a detailed comparison of the main wireless technologies for IoT, which are designed to build low power wide area networks - Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) ().

Both NB-IoT and LoRa have their pros and cons. And this is understood by MegaFon, where LoRa solutions are also tested. According to Natalya Taldykina, mobile operators are now at a crossroads in terms of choosing a technology for IoT. She did not rule out the possibility of using MegaFon and LoRa technology. “In any case, everything will be determined by efficiency and cost,” concluded MegaFon's Corporate Business Development Director.

Telemetry and remote control solutions have been in use for over a century, but with the advent of the buzzword “Internet of Things”, the flow of investment in this area has increased significantly. One of the new directions is geographically distributed LPWAN networks, which provide wireless connection of devices with a very gentle power consumption mode: autonomous operation from batteries up to 10 years. The introduction of LPWAN opens up many prospects for all players in the wireless data transmission network market, so it is not surprising that this topic became one of the main topics at the BESEDA conference held in September, traditionally organized by CompTek.

There are many forecasts regarding the growth in the number of connected "things", and the numbers indicated in them may differ by an order of magnitude. So, say, Gartner experts believe that by 2020 there will be "only" about 21 billion connected devices, while Intel assumes that there will be ten times more - 200 billion.

In view of such discrepancies, it is best to take the rather restrained forecast of the Ericsson Mobility Report as a "starting point". According to this document, the total number of connected devices in the period from 2015 to 2021 will approximately double: from 15 to 28 billion pieces, and it also takes into account traditional means of human-to-human communication (mobile and fixed phones), as well as for working on the Web (PCs, laptops, tablets). According to J'son & Partners Consulting, "the total number of connected devices in distributed telemetry systems in Russia" will also approximately double during the period under review: from 16.1 to 32.6 million units. Although Ericsson and J'son & Partners analysts used different criteria for evaluation, even a rough estimate shows that the Russian IoT market is significantly less than 1% of the global one.

Interestingly, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report, in 2015 the total number of traditional communication devices (10.1 billion) was more than double the number of connected IoT “things” (4.6 billion). In 2021, the balance of power will change in favor of IoT: 15.7 against 11.8 billion devices. At the same time, the number of traditional means of communication will increase by only a few percent per year, while the number of connected things will increase by more than 20% (see Fig. 1).

The Ericsson Mobility Report separately considers IoT devices connected via cellular networks (cellular IoT) and other wireless technologies (non-cellular IoT). The latter in 2015 was about 10 times more. This ratio will continue in 2021.

According to many experts, the wireless connection of "things" distributed over a large area will mainly be carried out through networks with low power consumption (Low Power Wide Area Network, LPWAN). Some five years ago, this term did not exist at all, but now it is the most promising solution for IoT (see Fig. 2). Unlike classical cellular communication systems, LPWANs are specifically designed for the Internet of Things and provide such important characteristics for this application:

• low cost of the equipment of the network itself, as well as chips for the end device,
• low power consumption, which means a long battery life (up to 10 years or more).

Many technologies have already been developed to build LPWAN networks, including in Russia, but on a global scale, LoRa, Sigfox and NB-IoT are considered the three main ones. Since Sigfox is not yet represented in Russia in any way, in this material we will focus on the consideration of the remaining two.

LORA AT A GLANCE

LoRa technology was introduced in early 2015 by Semtech and IBM Research. It relies on the LoRa modulation method patented by Semtech, as well as the open network protocol Long Range Wide Area Networks (LoRaWAN). LoRa modulation is based on spread spectrum technology (Spread Spectrum Modulation) and a variation of linear frequency modulation (Chirp Spread Spectrum, CSS). This solution ensures high stability of communication over long distances. LoRa modulation defines the physical layer of a radio access network, which can have a different topology: mesh, star, point-to-point, etc.

The development of LoRaWAN technology (see Fig. 3) is carried out by the non-profit organization LoRa Alliance, which includes companies such as IBM, Semtech, Cisco, Actility, etc. In November 2015, LoRa Alliance introduced a certification program to ensure guaranteed compatibility of LoRa equipment from different manufacturers .

The coverage area of ​​the base station (gateway) in the LoRaWAN network is up to 20 km, the data transfer rate is from 290 bit/s to 50 Kbit/s (see Table 1). The declared battery life of the end device (when using a 2000 mAh battery) is 105 months, that is, almost nine years.

EVOLUTION OF 3GPP SOLUTIONS FOR IOT

NB-IoT technology should be considered in the context of the movement of the cellular industry towards the Internet of things. Its main standards body, 3GPP, began working on this topic a few years ago - Release 11 released in 2012 introduced a number of features for machine communications (Machine Type Communications, MTC). Release 12 (2015) defines a so-called Category 0 device for MTC with a single antenna and other simplifications.

As a result, nine categories of user devices with different capabilities and supported data rates were specified for LTE. Prior to the advent of Category 0, the most limited devices were Category 1 devices, which did not have the ability to use multiple spatial streams (no MIMO support), and the maximum transfer rate was "only" 10 Mbps in the downlink. For comparison, for Category 5 devices that support 4x4 MIMO, the maximum speed is 30 times higher - 300 Mbps (see Table 2). When Category 0 was defined, its capabilities were significantly reduced even in comparison with Category 1: maximum speed of 1 Mbps, half-duplex transmission mode.

The Release 13 specifications, published in 2016, take further steps to support IoT applications, including measures to lower device costs, expand coverage, and increase battery life. In particular, Category M1 is defined (abbreviations eMTC and LTE-M are also used for its designation). To reduce power consumption, along with Power Saving Mode (PSM), which was also defined for categories 0 and 1, Extended Discontinuous Reception (Extended DRX, eDRX) mechanisms are provided. These technologies make it possible to reduce the frequency of the exchange of mandatory service messages, optimize the intervals for receiving and receiving information, and also maintain long periods of “silence” (when the device remains connected to the network without transmitting or receiving information).

In this context, it should also be mentioned that in Release 13, as part of the further development of GSM technology, the EC-GSM-IoT (or simply EC-GSM) mode was defined. It also uses the PSM and eDRX mechanisms. In addition, the possibility of repeated repetition of transmitted information is provided for improved coverage (+20 dB) compared to traditional GSM systems. In EC-GSM, the signaling system is simplified (the part that ensures joint operation with WCDMA/LTE networks is excluded), authentication mechanisms and connection security are improved, etc. When using a carrier width of 200 kHz (in the GSM 900 and 1800 MHz band), EC technology -GSM-IoT provides a maximum speed of 240 Kbps and allows you to serve up to 50 thousand devices per sector of the base station.

Approximately similar characteristics (up to 50 thousand devices per sector of the base station, speed up to 250 Kbps) have the Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) technology defined in Release 13. But if LTE-M and EC-GSM-IoT provide maximum compatibility with the infrastructure already available to mobile operators and can be deployed by updating software on existing LTE and GSM networks, respectively, then NB-IoT is a relatively new direction for developing solutions. for IoT under 3GPP, although it provides for close interworking and integration with LTE. In this case, a new type of radio access is proposed, the characteristics of which differ significantly from those of existing systems. According to a number of experts, the processing of link-layer protocols in NB-IoT will significantly (up to 90%) reduce the cost of the corresponding NB-IoT devices compared to Category M1 LTE devices (see Fig. 4). Many well-known manufacturers, including Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia, Intel and Qualcomm, have already announced support for NB-IoT technology in their products.

LORA VS NB-IOT

LoRa systems use an unlicensed frequency range and an asynchronous protocol, which is optimal for reducing the cost of end devices and increasing battery life. But they are not able to provide the same high quality of service (QoS) as synchronous cellular protocols, which allocate guaranteed time slots for information transmission. Therefore, for those applications that require QoS guarantees (including low latency), IoT support technologies developed by the mobile operator community are better suited. They are also preferred for applications that require heavy messaging and/or a large amount of data transfer. Where low cost, long battery life and the need to support a large number of devices scattered over a large area are in the first place, LoRa is optimal.

When analyzing the battery life of a device, two important factors must be taken into account: the device's own power consumption and the specifics of the operation of communication protocols. The asynchronous nature of the protocol used in LoRaWAN networks means that most of the time the device can be in "sleep" mode - until the application needs it. In the cellular world, synchronous protocols are used, which means that the device must periodically exchange service messages with the network, even if it is not required by the user. Let's say a typical cell phone needs to sync with the network every 1.5 seconds. When using NB-IoT mechanisms, synchronization is performed less frequently, but still regularly, which consumes battery power.

The modulation algorithms used in cellular communications (OFDM or FDMA) are aimed at maximizing the efficient use of frequency resources, but not at the efficient use of battery resources. These algorithms require the use of a linear transmitter (amplifier) ​​that consumes significantly higher peak current than the non-linear modulated transmitters used in LoRa systems. Higher peak current obviously leads to faster battery consumption.

Since the LoRaWAN protocol is much simpler than those used in NB-IoT, it means that it is easier and cheaper to implement, including on the basis of inexpensive, widespread controllers. A more complex modulation scheme and the NB-IoT protocol require more expensive chips. LoRaWAN modules are already widely available and cost about 7-10 dollars in Western markets, and, according to experts, as the scale of implementation expands, the ecosystem develops and mass production increases, the price of such modules can drop to 4-5 dollars. The cost of LTE modules produced today is estimated at $20.

When comparing LoRa and NB-IoT, such a characteristic as the service area (coverage) of the network is also important. The advantage of NB-IoT is that the existing cellular infrastructure can be upgraded to support this technology - although this may only be possible for certain models of base stations and cost a lot. However, the upgrade option has the right to exist only in cities with good 4G/LTE coverage. Far from all suburbs, and even more so rural areas, have a developed LTE infrastructure.

One of the advantages of LoRa is that the corresponding solutions can be deployed not only in public networks, but also in private or corporate networks. Abroad, quite a few large companies plan to implement a hybrid model: along with the use of public LPWAN network resources, they will additionally build their own (corporate) network to serve individual zones.

When deploying a LoRaWAN network, both cell towers and other installation sites can be used: for example, industrial gateways can be placed at production sites, and small pico-gateways can be placed right at home. A tower gateway costs $1,000, an industrial gateway costs about $500, and a pico cell gateway can cost as little as $100. The cost of upgrading a 4G LTE base station to support NB-IoT, according to experts, could be more than $10,000.

The NB-IoT specification was published in June 2016, but the release of the first microcircuits for end devices supporting this technology is planned only for 2017. Then it will take time to test, organize mass production of NB-IoT products, and launch networks into commercial operation. In other words, it will take another couple of years until NB-IoT becomes a reality. LoRa solutions are already available. They have been tested and the corresponding networks are in commercial operation in a number of countries, including on a national scale.

SITUATION IN RUSSIA

Russian mobile operators, as well as operators in other countries, are obviously betting on developments for the IoT of the 3GPP organization. So, in July 2016, MegaFon announced plans to deploy NB-IoT technology together with Huawei. As part of the Innoprom-2016 exhibition, partners demonstrated one of the examples of the application of the new NB IoT standard - smart parking. A pilot launch of such parking in Moscow is planned for the end of the year.

According to MegaFon experts, NB-IoT is the most suitable LPWAN solution for enterprises in various industries, with which you can connect utility meters, monitoring sensors, object tracking systems and a host of other devices to the operator's network. One of the advantages of the technology is the ability to connect up to 100,000 devices to one cell of a base station, which is dozens of times higher than the capabilities of existing mobile communication standards. At the same time, the use of the low-frequency range makes it possible to cover such hard-to-reach places as basements, basements, etc. According to MegaFon, a water meter with an autonomous battery when operating in the NB-IoT standard can last up to 10 years without recharging and receive a signal , being installed in the basement.

Another leading operator, MTS, in June 2016 on the sidelines of the XX St. Petersburg International Economic Forum announced the signing of an agreement with Ericsson, under which the companies, in particular, plan to test EC-GSM-IoT technology, which ensures the operation of M2M devices on existing networks MTS. According to MTS specialists, the new radio interface will allow multiplying the number of M2M devices operating in the network, and due to the increase in the sensitivity of radio modules, it will be possible to expand the range of the base station by seven times and reduce the power consumption of devices. In addition, it is argued that the introduction of EC-GSM-IoT will not require a large-scale replacement of communication equipment - in most cases, you can get by with updating the software on the nodes of the radio network.

LoRa networks in Russia are being developed by several companies: Lace, Network 868, Lartech Telecom. For example, the IoT Lace network has been operating since the beginning of 2015 in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In September 2015, the company announced the expansion of its coverage area to the cities of Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, Innopolis, Kazan, Krasnoyarsk, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Stavropol, Tver, Chelyabinsk, Yaroslavl. The company's plans are ambitious: "complete coverage of the entire territory of Russia."

Krasnodar-based Lartech Telecom told us that about 20 LoRa base stations have already been deployed in this city, which, given the large coverage area, means covering a significant part of the territory. In addition, LoRa stations of this company are deployed in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov, Samara, Barnaul and other cities.

In February 2016, Lace, AURORA Mobile Technologies (supplier of components and finished equipment for wireless communications and navigation, designer and manufacturer of such systems) and Toes (designer and operator of heat and water supply control systems) tested a network monitoring system in Tver and objects of heat and water supply based on LoRaWAN in dense building conditions. Based on the results of a successful experiment, it was decided to integrate LoRa modems with used thermal converters and pressure sensors into a single device.

In addition, LPWAN networks based on domestic developments are being developed in Russia. In the September issue of the Journal of Network Solutions / LAN, I already talked about the Swift project (see the article by the author ""). The original LPWAN network construction technology was presented at the BESEDA conference by the Telekan company. She proposes to build the IoT infrastructure of a smart city based on a smart lighting solution, which will significantly reduce the cost of such infrastructure. The microbase stations developed by Telekan are built directly into urban lighting fixtures (see Fig. 5), and this can be done in the process of planned replacement of obsolete fixtures and transition to more modern and economical light sources.

Telekan has developed its own Lumiot wireless technology, and LoRa support is also planned in the future. One Lumiot base station supports up to 2000 devices within a radius of up to 4 km. Device management, collection and visualization of data from various sources are carried out in the cloud, to which base stations use GSM to connect. At this stage, Telekan's solution is being tested in Russian and CIS cities.

According to Vitaly Solonin, head of the wireless technology department at J'son & Partners Consulting, 2017 will be marked by competition between cellular operators for IoT projects for large state-owned companies and corporate customers. In addition, both major players in the IT market (Cisco, HP, SAP, Microsoft, etc.) and startups in the LPWAN market will compete for these customers. The latter so far work mainly in the housing and communal services market and in smart city projects.

Alexander Barskov, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Networking Solutions/LAN

With the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), the number of connections to mobile networks of operators will increase significantly. According to Ericsson forecasts, by 2021 the total number of devices connected to the Internet in the world will be 28 billion. Of these, 1.5 billion will be consumer electronics and smart cars that interact with each other through mobile networks. In the coming years, the number of machine-to-machine (M2M) connections will grow by 25% per year, most of the M2M devices supplied to the market will support the LTE standard. As the IoT market grows, it becomes clear that for many use cases for such solutions, existing mobile communication technologies are insufficient due to insufficient coverage, high cost of end terminals and short battery life.

The innovative technology of the Internet of Things is the narrowband IoT (Narrow-Band IoT or NB-IoT) solution. It is a wireless, narrow-band variation of Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) wide area networks that is primarily intended for machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. The NB-IoT standard will open a wide range of new opportunities for companies specializing in the provision of telecommunications services. In particular, it will significantly increase the profitability of operators from one subscriber (Average revenue per user, ARPU). NB-IoT technology will occupy its low-speed niche in a class of solutions where uninterrupted data transmission and low power consumption are a priority.

Technical advantages of NB-IoT

The NB-IoT standard was specified by the 3GPP consortium in 2016 in Release 13 (LTE Advanced Pro) and is currently being tested. Experts believe that NB-IoT technology will gain popularity among operators, as its maintenance and operation will cost them less than today's advanced LTE and GSM networks. This is due to its characteristics. The NB-IoT standard is a two-way communication operating in a 200 kHz frequency channel. In order to put the network into operation, the operator only needs to install special software on the base station. This is relevant if you deploy an IoT network already at existing frequencies.

3GPP is considering a network operation model. The consortium offers three options for deploying the NB-IoT network. The first is the NB-IoT Guard Band, i.e. Narrowband IoT will have its own frequency spectrum. The second is In Band, i.e. the technology will be placed in the protective frequency interval of LTE networks. The third one was called Stand Alone. According to his concept, NB-IoT and LTE operate in the same frequency range. Thus, the NB-IoT network can be deployed in the frequency bands in which the GSM standard currently operates, after their refarming to LTE, or in the "guard" intervals between GSM and LTE networks. The data transfer rate in NB-IoT reaches 200 kbps, which is sufficient for devices that periodically transmit the same type of small data.

In a simplified form, the options for deploying an NB-IoT network can be represented as the following illustration:

In turn, the developers promise that the battery life of NB-IoT equipment without recharging will reach 10 years!

The price of the NB-IoT terminal is expected to be $5.

The next most important feature of NB-IoT technology is the ability to connect up to 100 thousand NB-IoT devices to one cell of the base station, which is ten times higher than the capabilities of existing mobile communication standards. This allows you to get additional commercial benefits based on the application of IoT data analysis using Big Data methods. As part of cooperation with related industries, operators, in addition to selling communication services, get the opportunity to sell analytical data to third parties.

Such advantages of the NB-IoT standard can significantly increase the coverage area, providing communication in hard-to-reach places and regions.

Problems and prospects for the development of NB-IoT

Many industries are showing interest in IoT products that improve the efficiency of business processes. First of all, these are housing and communal services, the transport sector, healthcare, the automotive industry, etc.

The Internet of Things provides more than fifty use cases, including smart sensors (for electricity, gas, water), facility management, home and commercial security and fire alarm systems, personal “e-health” sensors, people, animal or object tracking systems, elements smart city infrastructure (e.g. street lamps or trash cans, smart homes and connected industrial tools, etc.).

Analysts believe that it is the B2B segment that will become the driving force behind the development of the Internet of Things and that it will be the one that will show the greatest interest in these products at the first stage of their commercialization. This is also explained by the fact that it is easier to sew a structured business procedure into the package of a “smart” device than the needs of a private user. The Narrowband IoT market is expected to reach about $200 million by 2022.

Experts give various figures on the number of IoT devices connected in the next 4-6 years. The complexity of forecasting is explained by the fact that the Internet of Things has great potential in the industrial sector, which is quite energy intensive and requires a large number of connected devices.

It is expected that the first tests of the NB-IoT standard will begin at the border of 2016-2017. It is too early to talk about the commercial deployment of such networks. This is due not only to the lack of electronic components and the problems of allocation of allocated frequencies, but also to regulatory mechanisms. Representatives of Huawei note that today Russia has no reason to stay behind the development of technology. Federal carriers have quite firmly implemented LTE networks, which is very important for the progression of Narrowband IoT. Among the world developers of the NB-IoT standard, in addition to Huawei, one can name Qualcomm, Intel Corporation, Nokia Networks, Verizon, Samsung Group, AT&T and others.

Given that the NB-IoT standard has just been formed, their concept is still being refined. A number of developers are planning to expand the functionality of the network in future releases with a voice service, because. the speed of the network allows you to do this. Also, most likely, NB-IoT will become one of the components of the network specification (Narrowband 5G).

NB-IoT network testing

This summer, u-blox announced the release of the first of its kind module for NB-IoT networks. It supports services that require a reliable connection and long-term transmission of small data. The developers claim that the battery will last from 10 to 20 years without recharging. The size of the device is 1.6x2.6 cm, and the limiting speed of the incoming stream is 227 Kbps. U-blox reported on successful hardware testing that confirmed the superior performance of NB-IoT over GPRS.

This company has already "lit up" sensations in the development of the Narrowband IoT standard last year. In partnership with Huawei and Vodafone, the first-ever testing of the NB-IoT pre-standard was organized. The experiment was carried out on the Vodafone network by attaching a special module to the base station, which sent a signal to the water meter. The partners intend to expand the scope of the technology. For example, Huawei plans to deploy this standard for organizing mobile communications. However, for this it is necessary to confirm the low sensitivity of the NB-IoT network to external interference.

In order to promote and deploy the NB-IoT standard, Huawei signed an agreement of intent with TIM earlier this year. Partners are building an open lab to organize work on narrowband IoT and conduct field trials.

Obviously, the demand for this technology will grow, because. its characteristics correspond to market trends and consumer needs. It provides wide coverage (including in basements), energy savings, the ability to connect a large number of devices and low cost of their maintenance.

For more information about the technological solutions of the Internet of things in mobile networks (in particular, NB-IoT), the evolution of M2M networks to IoT in the 3GPP specifications, as well as other technical features of the operation of mobile networks, read the book "Mobile communication on the way to 6G ".

The GSMA predicts that by 2020, the number of IoT connections over mobile networks and LPWA will exceed 3 billion. Resource counters, wristwatches and bracelets, pet collars, sensors in parking lots - each of the devices will need access to the network. To make this possible, MegaFon and Huawei are actively cooperating in promoting a new communication standard, NB-IoT (Narrow Band IoT), on the Russian market. This communication technology for the Internet of Things significantly reduces the energy consumption of end devices, provides significantly better coverage and communication penetration, and increases the maximum number of devices connected to the network.

MegaFon also became a member of the GSMA NB-IoT Forum community, the purpose of which is to cooperate in the development of NB-IoT technology around the world. The organization includes the largest operators (China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, etc.), as well as leading manufacturers of technological solutions (Huawei, Intel, Qualcomm).

The new NB-IoT standard was developed by the 3GPP consortium, taking into account the requirements of operators: IoT services must be transmitted over a transmission technology known as "Low-Power and Wide-Area (LPWA)" and use the existing infrastructure of the operator. In terms of versatility, NB-IoT is the most suitable LPWA solution for enterprises in various industries, with which you can connect utility meters, monitoring sensors, object tracking systems and a host of other devices to the operator's network. One of the features of the technology is the ability to connect up to 100,000 devices to one cell of the base station, which is dozens of times higher than the capabilities of existing mobile communication standards. Using the low-frequency range will provide coverage for hard-to-reach places such as basements, basements, etc. In addition, when working in the new standard, devices consume battery more economically, which allows them to work without recharging for much longer. For example, a water meter with an autonomous battery, when operating in the NB-IoT standard, can last up to 10 years without recharging and receive a signal when installed in the basement.

The market entry of the first NB-IoT-enabled devices is expected in late 2016/early 2017. NB-IoT technology works in LTE networks and will be relevant during the further transition to the fifth generation 5G standards.

“MegaFon is one of the key players in the Russian Internet of Things market, using current technologies, our company has implemented many successful projects in the field of M2M/IoT. And today, in partnership with Huawei, we are pleased to announce the transition to a qualitatively new level, the open NB-IoT standard, which allows you to connect a huge number of devices from various manufacturers to the MegaFon network with high energy efficiency. We are confident that the new technology will make the lives of both our corporate customers and ordinary MegaFon subscribers more mobile, easier and brighter,” noted Alexander Bashmakov, director of infrastructure at MegaFon.

“Huawei, in cooperation with the world's largest operators, has already made a great contribution to the creation of NB-IoT technology around the world. We are pleased that MegaFon is betting on the most advanced technologies such as NB-IoT, bringing the Russian ICT market to the global level. This will allow MegaFon to offer its B2B customers efficient services, which will also benefit end users,” he added. Dmitry Alferov, Vice President for Service and Maintenance of Huawei in Russia.

Prior to the final adoption of the NB-IoT standards, Huawei worked with partners to prepare for application standardization and testing to better understand customer needs, accelerate upgrades, and optimize technical solutions. In the first half of 2016 alone, Huawei completed many joint projects. For example, together with Etisalat, Huawei has tested smart parking services and applications; together with Australian operators (VHA and Optus) and South East Water, launched a test of an intelligent water supply management system, and also entered into a strategic partnership agreement with China Telecom and Shenzhen Water Group to implement a similar system.

Within the framework of the Innoprom exhibition, MegaFon and Huawei demonstrated one of the examples of the application of the new NB IoT standard - “smart parking”. Using the smart parking solution will enable commercial parking companies to more effectively control the parking space, optimize the cost of monitoring the occupancy of spaces, and also provide end users with a convenient interface through a mobile application for booking, paying and navigating to a parking space.]]>