LTE-M: A Bridge Between NB-IoT and 5G

Each IoT solution has specific network requirements. Here is an overview of the most important facts, benefits and application scenarios for 5G and the LPWA standards:

For IoT solutions that only transmit small amounts of data now and then NarrowBand IoT is ideal for corporate or municipal loT projects. Its data rate is limited to a maximum down- and upload speed of 250 kilobits per second. NB-IoT’s latency, however, is too high for critical areas of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication such as transmitting important information like real-time data or time-critical alarm messages.

• Benefits: NB-IoT modules are limited to essential functions. They cover long distances on extremely low energy consumption and at low cost. NarrowBand IoT provides a high level of building penetration and transmits reliably from basements and sewers or through thick concrete walls. Depending on usage, the module’s battery can run for up to ten years. In contrast to proprietary technologies such as LoRaWAN or Sigfox, NB-IoT is an international, reliable, and future-proof industry standard for IoT connectivity that is available on a balanced geographic basis and is also a part of the 5G family.
• Availability: countrywide
• Enterprise applications: Smart City solutions like Smart Parking (navigates motorists smartly to a free parking space), Smart Waste Management (empties trash cans subject to waste level) and Smart Lighting (intelligent urban street lighting); Smart Buildings (facility management, digital access control, monitoring and alarm systems); Smart Metering (automatic remote meter reading); Construction Equipment Monitoring (localization and optimized maintenance of machines in factories); Smart Home/Smart Office (digital security systems, access control, heating and ventilation systems).

LTE-M is suitable when a slightly higher data throughput are required along with good building penetration and a low energy requirement for the modules. That is where the energy-saving nuSIM comes up trumps. LTE-M is based on the LTE-3GPP standard and is therefore 5G-compatible.

• Benefits: Compared with NarrowBand IoT, LTE-M provides higher data rates (up to 350 kbit/s), lower latencies and short text message support with wide coverage. Optimized energy consumption, good indoor coverage and up to 50 percent lower module costs compared with conventional wireless modules are additional benefits.
• Availability: Telekom already provides countrywide network coverage in Germany and many other European countries.
• Enterprise applications: Smart City (Air Quality Management), Smart Building (sensor-connected buildings), Wearables (sensor-equipped fashion wear or fitness trackers), E-Health (digitization of healthcare such as data transmission for remote monitoring of connected cardiac pacemakers), White Goods Monitoring (monitoring of household devices), Smart Tracking and Smart Lighting (transmission of larger amounts of data such as continuous status monitoring).

5G is 100 times faster than 4G (LTE). In optimal conditions the 5G data transmission rate is up to 20 Gbit/s in download and up to 10 Gbit/s in upload – ideal speeds for all ti me-critical solutions on the Internet of Things.

• Benefits: Several external antennas sharing a data transmission enable extremely critical applications to interact, so 5G enables sensors and devices with a high level of connection security and low latency to communicate with each other.
• Availability: 5G network availability is already widespread. Over 90 percent of German households can now access Deutsche Telekom’s 5G network. By 2025 Telekom aims to offer 5G to 99 percent of the population and to provide 90 percent country coverage. Business and industrial enterprises in rural areas will then be able to use high-speed broadband for IoT applications and further digitization.
• Enterprise applications: Campus networks (now also as 5G NR standalone networks for, say, autonomous industrial robots), autonomous driving, E-Health (digital health, the digital patient), Telemedicine, Smart City, Smart Grid, Smart Factory (optimizing machine runtimes in manufacturing by analyzing large data volumes), Predictive Maintenance (in manufacturing), Video Monitoring (smart video) and streaming, Platooning (controlled convoy driving of trucks), Smart Farming, Logistics (smart containers, supply chain monitoring).