NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) is a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) radio technology standard developed to enable a wide range of devices and services to be connected using cellular telecommunications bands. NB-IoT is a narrowband radio technology designed for the Internet of Things (IoT) and is one of a range of Mobile IoT (MIoT) technologies standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Other 3GPP IoT technologies include eMTC (enhanced Machine-Type Communication) and EC-GSM-IoT. The NB-IoT specification was frozen at Release 13 of the 3GPP specification (LTE-Advanced Pro), in June 2016.
NB-IoT focuses specifically on indoor coverage, low cost, long battery life, and enabling a large number of connected devices. The NB-IoT technology is deployed “in-band” in spectrum allocated to Long Term Evolution (LTE) – using resource blocks within a normal LTE carrier, or in the unused resource blocks within a LTE carrier’s guard-band – or “standalone” for deployments in dedicated spectrum. It is also suitable for the re-farming of GSM spectrum.
| LTE Cat 1 | LTE Cat 0 | LTE Cat M1(eMTC) | LTE Cat NB1(NB-IoT) | EC-GSM-IoT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3GPP Release | Release 8 | Release 12 | Release 13 | Release 13 | Release 13 |
| Downlink Peak Rate | 10 Mbit/s | 1 Mbit/s | 1 Mbit/s | 250 kbit/s | 474 kbit/s (EDGE)2 Mbit/s (EGPRS2B) |
| Uplink Peak Rate | 5 Mbit/s | 1 Mbit/s | 1 Mbit/s | 250 kbit/s (multi-tone)20 kbit/s (single-tone) | 474 kbit/s (EDGE)2 Mbit/s (EGPRS2B) |
| Latency | 50-100ms | not deployed | 10ms-15ms | 1.6s-10s | 700ms-2s |
| Number of Antennas | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1-2 |
| Duplex Mode | Full Duplex | Full or Half Duplex | Full or Half Duplex | Half Duplex | Half Duplex |
| Device Receive Bandwidth | 1.08 – 18 MHz | 1.08 – 18 MHz | 1.08 MHz | 180 kHz | 200 kHz |
| Receiver Chains | 2 (MIMO) | 1 (SISO) | 1 (SISO) | 1 (SISO) | 1-2 |
| Device Transmit Power | 23 dBm | 23 dBm | 20 / 23 dBm | 20 / 23 dBm | 23 / 33 dBm |
Sources:
- Preliminary specification (Source: 3GPP)
- 3GPP TS45.001
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