An article by Claudia Nemat, Member of the Deutsche Telekom AG Board of Management, Technology and Innovation.
Apart from the bandwidth it uses there is nothing narrow about the new Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technology called NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT). On the contrary: it delivers a broad range of possibilities and is a true game changer in the quest to better connect our increasingly digitized world.
For us, it is a crucial technology innovation which unlocks the door for the next generation of Internet of Things (IoT) applications on our way to 5G.
Specifically designed to overcome the limitations of traditional network technologies, NB-IoT meets the challenges our industry and customers currently face in their efforts to digitize their businesses. It helps to build effective solutions for issues ensuing from a rapidly growing world population such as enhanced mobility, better energy saving measures and a cleaner environment. The enormous scope of applications it covers include many industries and ranges from smart parking and lighting solutions in our cities, to intelligent water, waste and energy management, to more novel applications such as intelligent bee monitoring or solutions for the care of the elderly.
NB-IoT is extremely exciting because it enables us to create a wireless future with secure, stable and robust connectivity that works virtually anywhere. The technology’s key advantages are its low-cost factor, deep indoor coverage and extremely long battery life of connected devices (up to ten years with two AA batteries), as well as its usage of licensed spectrum and approved standardization by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) which enable LTE-based security. Rather unspectacular? No – it is the first important step towards 5G. Massive IoT is, together with enormous bandwidth and fast response times, one of the drivers for the new communication standard.
We’ve come a long way over the past 18 months with our development of the NB-IoT technology and ecosystem - and we have done so very quickly. We’ve worked with the right partners to create the appropriate framework through standardization and the use of licensed spectrum, and have thus established a technology path that will stand the test of time.
We also achieved the implementation of the world’s first standardized NB-IoT live trial network in Bonn back in October last year. And we have simultaneously spared no effort in building the NarrowBand IoT ecosystem by connecting not only our markets, but also some of the most talented IoT developers with our partners and customers through our NarrowBand IoT Prototyping Hub initiative.
The hard work is paying off. We’re rolling out NB-IoT in eight of our markets. Germany’s NB-IoT service packages were already launched. In May, T-Mobile Netherlands has completed the world’s first nationwide NB-IoT rollout ahead of schedule. And in our other markets, including Austria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, we plan to expand the already existing NarrowBand IoT coverage to more and more cities.
Soon, we will also introduce the first commercial solutions, including a smart parking system and app in Hamburg, which will see up to 11,000 parking spaces connected across town, as well as a smart energy scheme with our partner ista, which allows you to intelligently record, visualize and bill the energy consumption through battery-powered measuring devices, such as water and heating meters or intelligent smoke alarms.
And that is indeed the most exciting aspect of witnessing the arrival of NB-IoT in our markets: The possibilities for this emerging technology are endless and truly beneficial in so many ways! They give ultimate meaning to a quote by Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen: “An innovation will get traction only if it helps people get something that they're already doing in their lives done better.”
Christensen’s words truly resonate with me as it is this kind of innovation – the one that makes a difference in people’s lives – which must always be at the heart of everything we do at Deutsche Telekom, because, ultimately, technology has to serve people.
