Overview of NB-IoT and it’s Application in IoT
NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet of Things or Narrowband Internet of Things) is a communications standard designed for low-power devices with little data. NB-IoT technology brings many benefits to Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, including wider coverage, lower power consumption, longer battery life, and faster network updates. In this blog, we will give a comprehensive description of the technology, its features, benefits and applications in IoT.
What is NB-IoT?
NB-IoT is a Low Power Broadband Networking (LPWAN) technology designed to enable communication with a large number of low power IoT devices over long distances. It operates on licensed spectrum and uses a narrow bandwidth of 200 kHz or less for data transmission. This narrow bandwidth allows it to operate in environments with high levels of interference and noise, making it an ideal choice for industrial IoT solutions.
NB-IoT uses a subset of the LTE (Long-Term Evolution) standard and is optimized for IoT devices that require low bandwidth, long battery life, and low-cost connectivity. NB-IoT is designed to provide efficient and reliable communications for IoT devices across a wide range of solutions.
One of the key benefits of NB-IoT is its ability to enable communication over long distances. It can cover distances up to 15 kilometers in rural areas and up to 1 kilometer in cities, which is significantly more than other LPWAN technologies. This makes it an ideal choice for solutions requiring long distance connectivity such as smart city, healthcare, agriculture, industrial automation, object tracking and environmental monitoring.
Another key benefit of NB-IoT is low power consumption. It is designed to last up to 10 years on a single battery, making it an ideal choice for solutions requiring long battery life such as smart meters, agricultural sensors and wearables.
How does NB-IoT work?
NB-IoT uses a narrowband frequency of 200 kHz to transmit data over long distances. It uses two modulation technologies, OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) for downlink and SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) for uplink. This makes it an ideal choice for IoT devices that require low data rates, long battery life, and extended coverage.
The Architecture of NB-IoT
The NB-IoT network, as illustrated in Figure, is comprised of five distinct parts. These include the NB-IoT terminal, the NB-IoT base station, the NB-IoT core network, the NB-IoT cloud platform, and the vertical business center.
NB-IoT terminal
The NB-IoT terminal serves as the gateway for IoT devices in all industries to connect to the NB-IoT network. In order to access the network, a corresponding SIM card must be installed.
NB-IoT base station
The NB-IoT base station, which is typically deployed by telecom operators, supports all three types of deployment modes mentioned before.
NB-IoT core network
The NB-IoT core network connects the NB-IoT base station to the NB-IoT cloud, enabling data transmission and processing.
NB-IoT cloud platform
The NB-IoT cloud platform is responsible for processing various services and forwarding the results to the vertical business center or the NB-IoT terminal.
Vertical business center
Finally, the vertical business center obtains NB-IoT service data and takes control of the NB-IoT terminal, providing a centralized location for managing the devices and their data.
This infrastructure enables efficient and reliable communication between IoT devices and their corresponding platforms, improving the capabilities and functionalities of the devices in various industries.
Features of NB-IoT
Large range
NB-IoT is optimized for long-distance communication, allowing IoT devices to transmit data over long distances. The technology uses lower frequencies than traditional cellular networks, allowing it to penetrate obstacles such as walls and buildings. This makes it ideal for IoT solutions that require extended coverage, such as smart agriculture and smart cities.
Low power consumption
NB-IoT is designed to minimize power consumption, allowing devices to run for extended periods of time on a single charge. The technology uses various power-saving techniques, including enhanced discontinuous reception (eDRX*) and power-saving mode (PSM**).
High connection density
NB-IoT is designed to support a large number of IoT devices in a single cell. It uses advanced technologies such as resource scheduling and interference management to optimize network throughput and spectral efficiency.
Fast network upgrade
NB-IoT technology is designed for fast and easy network upgrades. The technology is backward compatible with existing 4G and 5G networks, making it easy to integrate into existing infrastructure.
Low cost
NB-IoT devices are relatively inexpensive compared to other IoT communication technologies. This feature makes it attractive for solutions that require a large number of devices.
Benefits of NB-IoT
NB-IoT offers a number of benefits for IoT solutions:
Improved coverage
NB-IoT provides improved coverage and signal quality, making it ideal for IoT solutions in remote areas or underground environments.
Long battery life
The low power consumption of NB-IoT technology allows devices to last up to ten years on a single battery. This makes it ideal for IoT solutions that require long battery life, such as smart meters and object trackers. And it is especially useful for IoT devices that are difficult to access or require infrequent maintenance.
Increased reliability
NB-IoT uses advanced error correction techniques to improve communication reliability. This ensures accurate and uninterrupted data transmission even in harsh environments.
Increased security
NB-IoT provides advanced security features, including authentication and encryption, to protect IoT devices from cyber threats.
Applications of NB-IoT
NB-IoT technology has many potential applications in IoT. Some of the most promising solutions include:
Smart City
The utilization of NB-IoT is highly suitable for the smartification of numerous devices in urban areas. Due to the relatively dense distribution of base stations, NB-IoT connectivity is highly efficient in cities. Additionally, infrastructure smart devices require networks with characteristics such as low cost, long lifespan, wide coverage, and low data transfer volume, all of which are aligned with NB-IoT technology. Many smart city applications employ NB-IoT technology, including smart water meters, smart electricity meters, smart charging stations, and smart street lighting. These applications are stationary, encompass a broad range of segments, are numerous, and have modest demands regarding location precision and time lag. Manual operation and maintenance of these devices would be highly inefficient and costly.
Smart Farming
The implementation of NB-IoT equipment on the necks of cattle or sheep to create a “livestock monitoring system” can effectively manage farming operations and have a positive impact. This system can serve as the foundation for modern animal husbandry by providing insight into the animals’ health and whereabouts. Additionally, small underground soil sensors can be used by food producers to monitor and report on environmental conditions such as moisture and salt content.
NB-IoT technology is an excellent choice for these applications, particularly in ensuring that sensors located deep underground function effectively. Moreover, farmers must place a large number of sensors throughout areas with limited access to efficient power supply equipment. The ultra-low power consumption of NB-IoT means that a single battery can power the equipment for its entire lifespan, resulting in lower operating costs and easier maintenance for farmers.
Wearable Devices
Considering the characteristics of NB-IoT, wearable devices are ideal for long-term monitoring of chronic illnesses, as well as tracking and managing the elderly, children, and pets. These devices do not require dependence on smartphones. Real-time positioning of the elderly and children is possible using NB-IoT positioning, which can also be used on pet collars to prevent loss. Furthermore, NB-IoT technology is also applicable to smart bicycles, providing anti-theft positioning and tracking functionality, as well as online data interaction and remote control capabilities with the platform and users.
Smart Parking
Parking is a persistent issue faced by numerous major cities worldwide. One of the leading causes of this problem is that vehicle owners lack knowledge about nearby parking lots, leading them to search for parking spots, ultimately causing traffic congestion. NB-IoT technology offers a viable solution to this problem. By installing NB-IoT smart devices in parking spaces, parking space information can be transmitted to the internet, enabling drivers to select the best parking space and even book available parking spots. Effective utilization of every parking space can alleviate urban traffic and address parking issues.
Asset Tracking
With the increasing advancement of informatization and intelligent terminal devices, the demand for asset and personnel positioning and tracking is expected to rise. NB-IoT technology is applied in the asset positioning and tracking system, which has fragmentation characteristics such as asset inventory in smart parks, medical waste tracking and disposal, and pet placement.
Currently, most trackers available in the market utilize the GSM communication technology, which has high power consumption, a large chip area, high cost, and relatively low coverage, thereby contradicting the location tracking requirements. Furthermore, GSM technology is outdated, leading to a poor location tracking experience, while in some countries, it has been abandoned or is at the brink of failure, leading to a scarcity of products and technologies.
However, the advent of NB-IoT technology with its inherent features of low power consumption and deep coverage helps to address several shortcomings of traditional communication technologies, facilitating asset discovery and object tracking both indoors and outdoors. The low power consumption, wide coverage, budget, and compact size of NB-IoT technology make it an indispensable communication tool in the field of asset tracking.
Intelligent fire extinguishing
As society develops, people’s dependence on electrical appliances increases, leading to a rise in fire incidents caused by short circuits. Each fire can cause significant losses for families, making it necessary to accelerate the development of intelligent fire technology to reduce such incidents.
Most buildings are equipped with smoke detectors that can detect indoor smoke, but traditional detectors have limitations. They may not work if there is an open circuit and may have limited warning effects, causing people to miss their survival time. The solution is to smarten up the detectors.
Smoke detectors must work continuously and transmit small amounts of data, making NB-IoT a suitable choice for smart fire alarms. NB-IoT has reliable communication, low cost, and low power consumption, enabling it to stand by for decades. NB-IoT equipped detectors can transmit fire details to the backend in real time, which will allow the nearest fire alarm to sound accordingly and provide information to the fire police to minimize losses caused by fires.
Smart House
The smart home market has seen significant growth in recent years, and NB-IoT technology has become an integral part of it. Various smart home products have been introduced to the market, including indoor environment sensors, which can detect and report indoor conditions to homeowners. The intelligent sweeping robot has the ability to automatically scan and determine whether the house needs cleaning. With NB-IoT technology, smart access control allows homeowners to remotely open their doors through a mobile application. NB-IoT smart home applications are still under development, and we can expect to see even more innovative applications of NB-IoT in the smart home market in the future.
Conclusion
NB-IoT is an emerging technology that offers a number of benefits for IoT solutions. It provides low power consumption, long-range, and low-cost connectivity, making it an ideal choice for a wide range of applications. Features such as high connection density, improved coverage, and increased security make it an attractive option for IoT communications. The technology has many potential applications in various industries, including Smart City, Smart Farming, Smart Clothes, Smart Parking, Asset Tracking, Intelligent fire extinguishing, and Smart Houses. If you want to implement an IoT solution, NB-IoT technology is a great choice.
References
Malik, Hassan & Pervaiz, Haris & Alam, Muhammad & Le Moullec, Yannick & Kuusik, Alar & Imran, Muhammad. (2018). Radio Resource Management Scheme in NB-IoT Systems. IEEE Access. PP. 10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2812299.
Chen, Min & Miao, Yiming & Hao, Yixue & Hwang, Kai. (2017). Narrow Band Internet of Things. IEEE Access. PP. 1–1. 10.1109/ACCESS.2017.2751586.
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https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-architecture-of-NB-IoT-10_fig2_343646720
