Smart Industry 2/2018

peak data rate of up to 1 Mb/s full
duplex compared to NB-IoT and supports
mobile solutions, something
which NB-IoT cannot do because the
network must establish a new connection
after leaving a cell. Cat M1 further
supports Voice over LTE (VoLTE),
which may be of interest for IoT applications
such as home care and
elevator alarm systems, equipment
access control and remote assistance
solutions as well as ticketing systems
and vending machines. Measuring 10
to 15 ms, latency is significantly lower
here compared to NB-IoT, where values
range from 1.6 to 10 s. Combining
these two technologies with 2G
EGPRS fallback for regions where
NB-IoT has not yet been rolled out,
multi-mode connectivity cards can be
used to generate extremely high network
coverage for the large number
of mass use cases that benefit from
many years of battery operation and
do not require a constant connection
at high data rates.
Mobile M2M applications, particularly
those that are deployed globally,
are flawed by the fact that the
management of the SIM cards can
be extremely complex, resulting in
an immense administrative burden
for large field deployments. However,
Extended long
range coverage and
deep
penetration
indoors &
underground
a lot of the effort can be avoided by
using Embedded Universal Integrated
Circuit Card (eUICC)-compatible SIM
technology. Dubbed the “next evolution
of the SIM card,” eUICC offers
users the ability to change service
provider over-the-air (OTA), without
needing to physically change the embedded
SIM card itself. eUICC represents
the most radical change in over
two decades of GSM connectivity, in
terms of how customers can select
and change service provider profiles
based on the criteria or business rules
of their choosing.
Integrates into
cellular system
Easy
deployment
NB-IoT
A big step ahead in
mobile technology
Standards-based
NB-IoT offers
significant improvements
over existing
technologies, such as
extended range, lower
power consumption,
and easy integration.
Secure &
Reliable
industry
standards
based
Optimized for
low power
consumption
10+ year
battery life
For global solutions, this makes it
possible to quickly secure the right
tariffs from one or more of the
world’s 20 largest network operators
– which according to Vodafone
already service 90 percent of the IoT
coverage area – and install suitable
MNO profiles depending on the location
of the device. Corresponding
updates of all base stations
provided, of course. Another option
are global virtual network operators
(VNOs) like Arkessa, especially if you
want to use one provider for everything.
NB-IoT by Avnet
■ Sense and Control
Avnet Silica has developed an application-ready Arduino-compatible board for this
new performance class. Ardunio is a set of open-source computer hardware and
software products that enable manufacturers to build digital devices and interactive
objects that can sense and control objects in the physical and digital world through
single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits. In addition, Avnet has created
NB-IoT Sensor Shield, which makes it easy to optimize administration and maintenance
tasks without having to buy additional Arduino shields. The NB-IoT Sensor
Shield supports all popular operating systems such as Android, Linux, and Windows.
The Avnet Silica NB-IoT
Sensor Shield starter kit
with X-Nucleo sensor board
and STM32 Nucleo-64
processor board already has its
own test cloud for evaluating
connectivity.
The Avnet Silica Arduino
shield for NB-IoT,
Cat M1, and EGPRS
also offers optional
geolocation, and can be
equipped with eUICC SIM
components or cards.
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