© 2019

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NB-IoT: Gettingdevices to market fastA guide for operators and manufacturers

Executive SummaryThe Internet of Things (IoT) is creating huge new opportunities for devicemanufacturers, application developers and operators alike – not to mentioncitizens and consumers.

NB-IoT is emerging as the leading connectivity backbone to support theselarge-scale IoT deployments.

Getting NB-IoT devices to market quickly and ensuring a seamless customerexperience for end users are key to unlocking the value in this market.

In this report, we’ll look at the market forecast, the unique properties of NB-IoT,the hurdles to device deployment and – crucially – the practical strategies forovercoming them.

NB-IoT: Getting devices to market fast | 3

NB-IoT is here to stay The number of connected devices is expected toreach 125 billion globally by 2030, giving rise tonew forms of IoT connectivity such as low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs) includingNB-IoT and CAT-M (also known as LTE-M),which use licensed spectrum, and LoRa andSigFox, which run on unlicensed.

Wired, short-range communications are unableto deliver the necessary scale and deploymentsimplicity for the wide-scale roll-out of IoTconnectivity, and traditional long-range wirelessoptions are too expensive and power-hungry tojustify a business case.

LPWANs have emerged as a cost-effective,viable alternative for services and applicationsthat only transmit small and infrequent datamessages.

Some low-power wide-area (LPWA) devices canlast ten years or more on batteries, making themuseful for a broader range of applications andopening up new business cases that wouldpreviously have been too expensive.

According to Analysys Mason, there will be 3.5billion LPWA connections by 2026, and NB-IoTconnections will form the largest share ofconnections in both LPWA and overall traditionalcellular markets.

By 2022, the installed base of NB-IoTconnections is expected to exceed 2 billiondevices worldwide.

NB-IoT’s unique characteristicsStandardised by 3GPP, NB-IoT can enable awide range of IoT devices and services. NB-IoTminimises the power consumption of connecteddevices, while increasing system capacity andspectral efficiency, especially in locations thatcan’t easily be covered by conventional cellulartechnologies.

NB-IoT employs a new physical layer with signalsand channels to meet the demandingrequirements of extended coverage in rural areasand deep indoors, while enabling very lowdevice complexity. The underlying technology isrelatively simple and inexpensive. Further, thecost of NB-IoT modules is likely to decreaserapidly as deployments increase.

In many use cases, NB-IoT connected devicescan have a battery life of more than ten years,thanks to low-channel bandwidth (180Khz) andextended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX).eDRX was introduced in 3GPP Release 13 toaccommodate applications with infrequentmobile terminated data and long delay tolerancerequirements. The device can remain in sleepmode for longer, enabling significant powersavings.

Supported by all major mobile equipment,chipset and module manufacturers, NB-IoT canco-exist with 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile networks. Italso benefits from all the security and privacyfeatures of mobile networks, such as support foruser identity confidentiality, entityauthentication, data integrity and mobileequipment identification.

Why NB-IoT?

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LPWA technologies are often pitted ascompetitors, battling it out in a race to the top.However, each has its own role to play in the IoTlandscape and these technologies are set to co-exist and often even work together. How andwhere they will be used is based on theapplication capabilities required.

For example, CAT-M can transmit large chunks ofdata with higher data rates so it is much moresuitable for critical applications where real-timecommunication and very high reliability arerequired, such as digital health. It is also moreappropriate for mobile applications, such astransportation use cases. NB-IoT is most usefulfor static assets, like meters and sensors in a fixedlocation.

Licensed or unlicensed?Many operators are opting for licensed LPWA technology – NB-IoT or CAT-M – because of itsbanking-grade security. NB-IoT mutually authenticates the network and the device and encryptstraffic between the device and deep within the core network.

In addition, NB-IoT is faster to deploy than unlicensed technology such as LoRa and SigFox –operators can typically roll out cellular LPWA network services via a software upgrade to theirexisting infrastructure.

Another issue with unlicensed spectrum is the increased risk of interference.

NB-IoT CAT-M/LTE-M LoRa SigFox

Bandwidth 200 KHz3GPP licensed

1.4 MHz3GPP licensed

125kHz (500kHzd/l) unlicensed

100Hz (1.5kHz d/l)unlicensed

Standardisation 3GPP 3GPP LoRa Alliance Proprietary

Data rates20-100 kbpsdownlink/up to62.5kbps uplink

Up to 350 kbpsdownlink/up to 1mpsuplink

50kbps downlink/50kbps uplink

600bpsdownlink/100bpsuplink

Latency 1.5-10 seconds 50-100 milliseconds 1-10 seconds 1-30 seconds

Module cost Low Medium Low Very low

Use cases

Smart metersPipelinemanagementHome automationAgricultureSmart cityLow-value assetmonitoring

Smart gridTransportationHome securityHealth monitoringIndustrial assettrackingRemote maintenanceWearables

Smart meteringSmart parkingSmart streetlighting

Smart meteringSmart parkingSmart streetlighting

Battery 10 years + 10 years + 10 years 10 years +

Ecosystem Good Good Limited Limited

The smart cities market will be worth

$2.57 trillion by 2025

2 billion NB-IoT devices by 2022

IoT m

arke

t for

pipeli

ne

man

agem

ent t

o

grow a

t 12.1

7%

CAGR to 2

021

33% will be for smart meters

1.5 billion smart home devices will be sold in 2022 (up from 416 million in 2017)

The smart agriculture market worth

by 2023

12.17

%$13.5 billion

45% of LPWA connections will be for asset tracking by 2023

NB-IoT: Getting devices to market fast | 5

Major operators are rolling out NB-IoT services inAsia, the Middle East, Latin America and Europe,with commercial launches now underway. ChinaMobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, DeutscheTelekom, Etisalat, KT, NOS, TDC, Telefónica, Teliaand Vodafone are among the operators to bedeploying NB-IoT.

The Narrowband-IoT: pushing the boundaries ofIoT whitepaper from Vodafone notes: “A numberof different technologies have been developed tofulfil LPWA requirements, and we believe NB-IoTnot only offers enterprise-grade technicalspecifications, but is also the practical choice forcarriers, device manufacturers and ultimatelyenterprise users.”

Vodafone particularly highlights the high securityto NB-IoT, compared to unlicensed spectrumalternatives; its coverage in challenging

conditions; fast data throughout; flexible powermanagement; and simple design for cost-effectiveness.

NB-IoT opens up new business opportunities foroperators not only for connectivity but also tooffer the NB-IoT Network-as-a-Service, includingsecurity, billing and big data, etc., as well as evenplaying the role of the overall service integrator.

Given the market forecast for NB-IoT, as well asthe growth in its application sectors (see NB-IoTmarket opportunities infographic), the majority ofIoT developers and device-makers are interestedin NB-IoT.

The key to capitalising on this for the wholeecosystem is getting devices to market quicklyand cost-effectively, and ensuring those devicesare secure, reliable and work on all networks.

NB-IoT market opportunities

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Seize the NB-IoT opportunityHowever good their idea or product, there aremany hurdles for NB-IoT device manufacturersto clear before they can launch a device into themarket and begin generating revenue.

Devices must go through a stringentcertification process and be approved byregulators and operators. This certificationprocess covers chips and software, etc. and NB-IoT devices must also be approved to access thelicensed spectrum which the technology uses.Without this, devices could be blocked byoperators to prevent them from jeopardising thenetwork infrastructure.

Certification applies not only to new devices butalso to upgrades or new modules on alreadyaccepted devices. Certification must show that adevice performs safely and as expected whenconnected to an NB-IoT network, and that itoperates seamlessly across different networks toensure global interoperability.

Thorough testing is also essential for avoidingproblems for manufacturers further down theline, such as dropped connections, shortcommunications range and rising support costs.

Test challenges

• Manufacturers will be required to analyse andoptimise power consumption under variousconfigurations and operational models to ensurethe expected battery life of ten years or more isnot compromised.

• Firmware over-the-air updates, often measuredin megabytes, are critical to negotiate betweenoperator and manufacturer – updates can takeover 10 minutes to download to a remote deviceand this could have a significant impact onpower consumption and therefore battery life.

• It’s not just devices that need to be tested.Operators, manufacturers and app developersneed to understand how mobile applicationsperform over a wide variety of conditions.Application data throughput, batteryconsumption, memory usage and pushnotifications (under standard and adversarialInternet Protocol and radio frequency

conditions) all have a huge potential impact oncustomer experience.

• As billions of devices connect to networksaround the world, operators are becomingincreasingly wary of security or safety risks. Aswe have outlined, many operators choose NB-IoT for its security properties. Device security issomething that operators can’t afford to andwon’t compromise on.

• Device antennas must be tested to ensure theyperform the way they’re expected to, even insometimes-extreme conditions.

• Understanding the impact of different CE levels(European conformity) on power consumptionand latency is also important, as well as carryingout checks under different fading conditions –i.e. fluctuations in a received signal.

IoT devices are highly dependent on a complex series of network connections between the deviceclient, CPU (central processing unit), wireless modem, wireless network, cloud application and more.Each operator typically has different requirements. Further, NB-IoT has unique technical characteristicsas we outlined in the previous chapter.

All of this combined makes it challenging for IoT manufacturers to thoroughly test their solutions whileremaining competitive on price and agility.

These are just a few of the capabilities that NB-IoT device manufacturers must test before launch.

NB-IoT: Getting devices to market fast | 7

Speeding up deployment The way developers go about testing theirdevices will have a significant impact on theirsuccess in the market and ultimate ROI.Traditional testing processes can be slow, time-consuming and potentially ineffective.

A lot of manufacturers and product developerscreate the device in their home country(particularly in Asia due to manufacturing costs)to market and sell to customers abroad – suchas in the US or Europe. To test the devices andservices against operators' networks, engineerstypically have to travel to the country to trial thetechnology – sometimes multiple times to re-test revised software or hardware.

This constant travel isn’t practical or sustainable.Neither is waiting until design nears completionto verify the performance on a live network.Testing and continuous improvement arerequired throughout the product designlifecycle.

Lab verification costs can be as high as $250 perhour –this could realistically add up to hundredsof thousands of dollars per product. Ongoing

refinement in a repeatable simulated testnetwork environment is essential before pushingto a live one.

One alternative to travel is investing in labequipment but the financial layout for this canbe very high – typically over $100,000. This isunrealistic for many device developers,particularly small companies and those that onlyrequire testing for a one-off device or veryoccasionally.

In addition to these issues, not all operators willoffer developers access to their networksdirectly. For many operators, NB-IoT is still intrials or early stages.

To launch products that work quickly,manufacturers and developers need to be ableto test and revise on the fly – trialling theirdevices against different operators' networks formaximum market appeal without individualconfigurations.

New tools are emerging for this, which help toslash costs and time to market.

Strategies for success: Smart testing

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A growing trend is to test NB-IoT devices on aPaaS (Platform as a Service) using dedicated IoTtesting platforms, such as IoPass from HAEInnovations. Rather than requiring manufacturersto invest in expensive equipment or travel, thisnew breed of tools creates a virtual replica ofoperators' networks so manufacturers can carryout the full testing process from their ownpremises.

IoPass, for example, allows manufacturers to testat all stages of development from chip design toglobal service deployment. The tool is designedto have an intuitive user interface for non-wireless engineers that want an easy-to-use andcost-effective test platform. It offers both acustom development environment as well asautomated test suites that help ensure wirelessconnectivity, and battery and signallingperformance.

Hesham ElHamahmy, CEO, HAE Innovations,comments: “Manufacturers and developers oftenhave global ambitions. They can tune IoPass toany operator so they can be assured that theirproduct is valid for more than one market. Theycan test any specific operator’s requirements aswell as mandatory industry standards and,crucially, they can also test applications.”

He adds: “IoPass also tests applications. It's onething for a device to connect but it’s terrible tofind out at the end of the design cycle that theapplication doesn't accept the data and youneed to completely change the code. It couldalso be an awful experience for the endcustomer if applications are not properly tested.

“Being able to test all of that throughout thedevelopment lifecycle is the fastest way to get aproduct launched without wasted time andmoney.”

NB-IoT: Getting devices to market fast | 9

In action: Win-win for operator andmanufacturers• Who? Leading operator and NB-IoT device manufacturers

• The challenge: The operator’s device certification plan was too costly and time-consuming formanufacturers.

The operator was losing revenue, the manufacturers couldn’t launch devices fast enough.

• Solution: The operator deployed IoPass-R to enable manufacturers to test devices from their ownpremises.

• Results:

Business viabilityand ROI for themanufacturer

Savings of$10,000 +

Testingtime halved

Faster devicetime to market

Fasterrevenue forthe operator

ResultsThe operator typically requires the manufacturer to plan for 30 days on-site tosupport unforeseen failures. With IoPass-R, the manufacturer was able tocomplete testing in two weeks, cutting this time in half and removing anytravelling expense.

Through using smart testing solutions in this way, manufacturers get faster ROIon their development and gain first-mover advantage. By making it easy formanufacturers to test devices on a virtual version of their network, operatorsare more attractive for developers and can become the ‘go to’ for IoT launches.

Start testing your NB-IoT device to launch it much faster – find out more aboutIoPass now.

The challengeThe operator’s existing smartphone certification plan for evaluating devices toensure they are safe for service was proving too expensive to attract new IoTdevice manufacturers to launch on the network. Despite significantimprovements in the administrative process and reduction of tests required, themanufacturers still faced costly challenges.

These costs included paying for access to an NB-IoT network to pre-test theirproduct design for compliance to operator requirements and travel costs of over$10,000 for an on-site engineer to test the device on the target network(s).There were then further unplanned costs and delays due to engineering workrequired to fix issues uncovered during testing.

For the operator, these costs represented a barrier to increased revenue fromthe millions of IoT devices launched each year. For the manufacturers, thesecosts often mean the difference between success or failure of the company.

The solutionThe operator deployed IoPass-R with NB-IoT-capable technology. With IoPass-R,the operator sent the RF radio to the overseas manufacturer. The RF radioconnected back to a vEPC (virtual evolved packet core) over a secure link backto the operator. As a result, the manufacturer was able to test their design in thecomfort of their facility with access to all the engineering support on-site. Theresults were shared in an encrypted format and the device was declared safe forservice on the network.

NB-IoT: Getting devices to market fast | 11

© 2019

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this whitepaper are those of the authorsand do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the GSMA or its subsidiaries.

HAE Innovations was founded in 2015 with a visionto provide world-class services and solutions formeasuring performance of connected devices andInternet of Things (IoT) services.

Their methods for measuring Internet of Thingsperformance allows IoT manufacturers to test at allstages of development from chip design to servicedeployment globally.

To learn more, visit www.haeinnovations.com