What is the relationship between NB-IoT and 5G?
Before introducing the relationship between NB-IoT and 5G, let us first recall the working areas of 5G.
NB-IoT and 5G relationship's 5G technology
The 5G (concept) in communication is the fifth-generation mobile phone mobile communication standard, also known as the fifth-generation search mobile communication technology.
5G technology brings more than just faster internet speeds but makes possible the intelligent interconnection of all things. In fact, NB-IoT is the prelude and foundation of 5G commercial use. Therefore, the evolution of NB-IoT is more important, such as support groups. Broadcasting, continuous mobility, new power levels, etc., as long as the infrastructure such as NB-IoT is complete, 5G may be truly realized.
NB-IoT technology brings vitality to innovative applications in the field of the Internet of Things and brings innovative breakthroughs in many fields such as remote meter reading, security alarm, smart manhole cover, smart street lamp, and so on.
The three major sectors of 5G
3GPP defines three major directions for 5G application scenarios, eMBB (Enhanced Mobile Broadband), uRLLC (Ultra High Reliability and Ultra Low Latency Communication), and mMTC (Large-scale Internet of Things, more called Mass Machine Communication).
The three major sections are used to solve different problems:
eMBB: faster Internet access and greater data throughput;
URLLC: lower communication delay, as low as 1ms;
mMTC: Large connection standard, to solve the problems that NB-IoT and eMTC are solving.
In the 5G standard, the requirements for the working direction of mMTC are highly consistent with the working characteristics of NB-IoT, and even the subsequent division of key indicators of mMTC in the 5G standard is surprisingly consistent.
5G mMTC standard
5G mMTC key indicator division
The maximum path loss is 164DB, and the transmission rate is >160bps at this time;
Within one square kilometer, it can carry 1 million terminals, and the bandwidth is limited to 50MHz;
(Not necessarily working at the same time, with scheduling ability)
In the worst signal environment of 164DB, the delay is less than 10s;
In the worst signal environment of 164DB, the battery life is more than ten years.
These four indicators have many similarities with the current NB-IoT and eMTC, and they are fully achievable in the future. At present, internationally, NB-IoT and eMTC are being promoted to become the true implementation standards of mMTC.
The maturity of communication standards is a long-term evolution process, whether it is narrowband communication or cellular communication standards. The advancement of standard planning largely reflects the progress of mature technology development.
In March 2018, at the 79th plenary meeting of 3GPP RAN, 3GPP made it clear that “5G NR and eMTC/NB-IoT will be applied to different IoT scenarios.”
In the R16 protocol, the application scenarios of 5G NR mMTC will not involve LPWA, and eMTC/NB-IoT will still be the main application technology of LPWA.
In the 5G era, NB-IoT will also be the main communication standard for the Internet of Things, and its life cycle will be accompanied by the long-term construction of 5G.
In R14, R15, and R16 versions, 3GPP has further evolved and upgraded the NB-IoT protocol.
R14: Base station positioning, speed enhancement, increase cell reselection.
R15 and R16: Enhance downlink control and improve the reachability of downlink messages. Enhance interoperability and realize mutual cell reselection.
R15 and R16’s NB-IoT can already do inter-network reselection to LTE and can do inter-network reselection for both eMTC and 2G.
The development of 5G is in full swing, and so is the NB-IoT technology.
China’s 5G promotion group is a cooperative organization in China, Japan, the United States, South Korea, and Europe to jointly promote 5G and absorbs Brazil’s 5G promotion organization. 5G cooperation extends from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere, making the entire 5G more the advancement of globalization.
China is committed to advancing a globally unified 5G standard, which will be the first to realize a global unified standard in the field of mobile communications.
NB-IoT and 5G relationship's NB-IoT technology
Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) has become an important branch of the Internet of Things. NB-IoT is built on a cellular network and consumes only about 180kHz of bandwidth. It can be directly deployed on a GSM network, UMTS network, or LTE network to reduce deployment costs and achieve smooth upgrades.
NB-IoT is an emerging technology in the IoT field, which supports the cellular data connection of low-power devices in the wide-area network. It is also called a low-power wide-area network (LPWAN).
NB-IoT supports the efficient connection of devices with long standby times and high network connection requirements. The battery life of NB-IoT devices can be increased by at least 10 years, while also providing very comprehensive indoor cellular data connection coverage.
NB-IoT application scenarios and their impact on the Internet of Things
The development of NB-IoT will bring huge changes to the field of the Internet of Things, which will directly affect everyone’s life. The following are a few typical scenarios and changes:
Smart City
Taking water, electricity, gas meter smart metering, public parking management, environmental monitoring, and other fields as the starting point, urban public services, and public management are improved. Monitoring a city requires many aspects and is low-cost.
NB-IoT and LTE make it possible to control street lights, free parking, and environmental monitoring. As mentioned earlier, NB-IoT modems have competitive prices.
The main requirement of smart meter reading is network coverage. Sometimes, meter reading needs to be in poor signal areas, such as remote areas and underground.
NB-IoT realizes the monitoring of gas and water meters through regular small data transmission. This will lead to better network coverage.
Information consumption
Application in smart homes, wearable devices, child and elderly care, pet tracking, consumer electronics, and other products to strengthen business model innovation;
NB-IoT supports a large number of sensors, from large data volume to small data volume activities. Make portable and implement big data possible.
Industrial manufacturing
Combining with the industrial Internet and intelligent manufacturing to promote integration and innovation, the monitoring and control of the production and manufacturing process will be greatly expanded in the fields of logistics, transportation, and agricultural production.
Shared technology and smart hardware:
Enterprise applications such as shared bicycles, and smart hardware.
Shared technology
A series of recent actions, including frequency bands, standards, and policies, have all been accelerated suddenly. I believe many people have already felt that 5G and the Internet of Everything will get closer and closer to us.
We believe that the NB-IoT and 5G era will give us a smarter society.
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