Narrowband IoT

Narrowband Internet of things (NB-IoT) is a low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) radio technology standard developed by 3GPP for
cellular 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 NB-
IoT, 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]

Contents
3GPP LPWAN standards
Deployments
Devices and modules
See also
References
External links

3GPP LPWAN standards

LTE-M
LTE LC- NB-IoT
LTE eMTC
[12][13] Cat 1 LTE/MTCe EC-GSM-IoT
Cat 1
bis
LTE Cat LTE LTE Cat
LTE Cat 0 non-BL LTE Cat NB1
M1 Cat M2 NB2
3GPP Release Release Release Release Release Release Release
Release 13 Release 13
Release 8 13 12 13 14 14 14
474 kbit/s (EDGE)
Downlink 10 10 ~4 ~4 127
1 Mbit/s 1 Mbit/s 26 kbit/s
Peak Rate Mbit/s Mbit/s Mbit/s Mbit/s kbit/s 2 Mbit/s (EGPRS2B)

66 kbit/s (multi-tone)
474 kbit/s (EDGE)
Uplink ~7 ~7 159
5 Mbit/s 5 Mbit/s 1 Mbit/s 1 Mbit/s 16.9 kbit/s (single-
Peak Rate Mbit/s Mbit/s kbit/s 2 Mbit/s (EGPRS2B)
tone)

50–100 not 10–15

Latency 1.6–10 s 700 ms – 2 s
ms deployed ms
Number of
2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1–2
Antennas
Full or Full or Full or
Duplex Full Full or Half Half
Half Half Half Half Duplex Half Duplex
Mode Duplex Duplex Duplex
Duplex Duplex Duplex
Device
1.4– 1.4–
Receive 1.4 MHz 5 MHz 5 MHz 180 kHz 180 kHz 200 kHz
20 MHz 20 MHz
Bandwidth
Receiver 2 1 1 1 1
1 (SISO) 1 (SISO) 1–2
Chains (MIMO) (SISO) (SISO) (SISO) (SISO)
Device
20 / 23 20 / 23 20 / 23 14 / 20 /
Transmit 23 dBm 23 dBm 23 dBm 20 / 23 dBm 23 / 33 dBm
dBm dBm dBm 23 dBm
Power

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]

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

References
1. "NarrowBand – Internet of Things (NB-IoT)" (https://www.gsma.com/iot/narrow-band-internet-of-things-nb-iot/).
2. Grant, Svetlana (September 1, 2016). "3GPP Low Power Wide Area Technologies - GSMA White Paper" (http://www.gsma.
com/connectedliving/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/3GPP-Low-Power-Wide-Area-Technologies-GSMA-White-Paper.pdf)
(PDF). gsma.com. GSMA. p. 49. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
3. "Standardization of NB-IOT completed" (http://www.3gpp.org/news-events/3gpp-news/1785-nb_iot_complete). 3gpp.org.
3GPP. June 22, 2016. p. 1. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
4. "Extended Coverage - GSM - Internet of Things (EC-GSM-IoT)" (http://www.gsma.com/connectedliving/extended-coverage-
gsm-internet-of-things-ec-gsm-iot). gsma.com. GSMA. May 11, 2016. p. 1. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
5. Ryu, Jaeku. "NB-IoT Handbook" (http://www.sharetechnote.com/html/Handbook_LTE_NB_LTE.html).
6. Lawson, Stephen (September 21, 2015). "NarrowBand IoT standard for machines moves forward" (http://www.computerwor
ld.com/article/2984928/mobile-wireless/narrowband-iot-standard-for-machines-moves-forward.html). computerworld.com.
Computerworld / IDG. p. 1. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
7. Jones, Dan (September 11, 2015). "Ericsson, Intel, Nokia Back New Narrowband LTE IoT Spec" (http://www.lightreading.c
om/mobile/4g-lte/ericsson-intel-nokia-back-new-narrowband-lte-iot-spec-/d/d-id/718162). lightreading.com. LightReading.
p. 1. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
8. Scales, Ian (September 18, 2015). "3GPP agrees 'harmonized' proposal for narrowband IoT radio technology" (http://www.t
elecomtv.com/articles/iot/3gpp-agrees-harmonized-proposal-for-narrowband-iot-radio-technology-12853/). telecomtv.com.
TelecomTV. p. 1. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
 9. Lawson, Stephen (September 22, 2015). "LTE standard for Internet of Things machines gets the green light" (http://www.pc
world.com/article/2985233/internet-of-things/lte-standard-for-machines-gets-the-green-light.html). PCWorld / IDG. p. 1.
Retrieved September 24, 2015 – via pcworld.com.
10. GSA: Global Narrowband IoT – LTE-M networks – March 2019 (https://gsacom.com/paper/global-narrowband-iot-lte-m-net
works-march-2019/) (retrieved 27 March 2019)
11. GSA: NB-IoT and LTE-MTC Global Ecosystem and Market Status (https://gsacom.com/paper/nb-iot-and-lte-mtc-global-ecos
ystem-and-market-status/) (retrieved 15 October 2019)
12. "Preliminary specification". 3GPP.
13. Luo, Chao (March 20, 2017). "3GGP TS45.001: GSM/EDGE Physical layer on the radio path" (http://www.3gpp.org/ftp//Spe
cs/archive/45_series/45.001/45001-e10.zip) (ZIPped DOC). 3gpp.org. 14.1.0. 3GPP TSG RAN WG6. p. 58. Retrieved
May 27, 2017.
14. GSA: Global Narrowband IoT – LTE-M networks – March 2019 (https://gsacom.com/paper/global-narrowband-iot-lte-m-net
works-march-2019/) (retrieved 25 March 2019)
15. GSA: NB-IoT and LTE-M: Global Ecosystem and Market Status, April 2019 (https://gsacom.com/paper/iot-ecosystem-report-
april19/?utm=reports4g) (retrieved 24 April 2019)
16. GSA: IoT Ecosystem: NB-IoT and LTE-M Report: April-19 (https://gsacom.com/paper/iot-ecosystem-report-april19/)
17. GSA: NB-IoT and LTE-MTC Global Ecosystem and Market Status (https://gsacom.com/paper/nb-iot-and-lte-mtc-global-ecos
ystem-and-market-status/) (retrieved 15 October 2019)
18. "The first NB-IoT shield for Arduino: supported by T-Mobile" (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sodaq/the-first-nb-iot-shiel
d-for-arduino-supported-by-t). Kickstarter. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
19. "SODAQ SARA AFF R410M" (https://shop.sodaq.com/sodaq-sara-aff-r410m.html). SODAQ. Retrieved 2019-06-25.

External links
3GPP NB-IOT (http://www.3gpp.org/news-events/3gpp-news/1733-niot)
RP-151621 (http://ftp.3gpp.org/tsg_ran/TSG_RAN/TSGR_69/Docs/RP-151621.zip)

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