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NB-IoT one of three IoT technologies included in LTE Release 13.
3GPP revealed this week it has completed the standardisation of narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), a cellular technology for low power, wide area (LPWA) networking.
NB-IoT can provide coverage to hard-to-reach places, supporting two-way communication with large numbers of low throughput, low cost devices that consume very little power.
It uses licensed spectrum, which holds the promise of assured reliability and quality compared to standards that use unlicensed spectrum.
"It took us only nine months to standardise the new technology after the study phase," said Dino Flore, chairman of the 3GPP RAN group. "Once again 3GPP demonstrated the ability to quickly respond to the emerging market needs."
Vodafone is one of the more vocal backers of NB-IoT.
The U.K.-based telco’s R&D chief R&D director Luke Ibbetson is chairman of the NB-IoT Forum, and the company has carried out pre-standard trials in Australia, Spain and Turkey.
Vodafone aims to begin rolling out NB-IoT in various markets during 2017.
NB-IoT is one of three LPWA technologies included within LTE-Release 13, also known as LTE-Advanced Pro. The other two are extended coverage GSM IoT (EC-GSM-IoT) for 2G networks, and LTE Cat-M1 for 4G networks.
"We are pleased that the industry has moved so quickly to adopt them and that they have now been ratified by 3GPP," said Alex Sinclair, CTO of the GSMA, on Thursday.
"Mobile operators have already started a number of pilots around the world and this agreement over common standards will help accelerate the development of commercial solutions and ensure they are in market much faster, providing customers with more choice," he said.
