The Deutsche Telekom field trial was deployed over base stations in Bonn
Deutsche Telekom said it recently deployed the world’s first field implementation of narrow band “Internet of Things.” The trial was carried out with the cooperation of Chinese vendor Huawei.
The trial was developed over commercial base stations by software upgrades in order to make them NB-IoT capable. “Deutsche Telekom is an innovation leader and we are the first company in Europe, and one of the first companies worldwide, to have enhanced our commercial network to be capable to communicate with sensors,” DT CTO Bruno Jacobfeuerborn said. “We support the adoption of solutions for cellular-based IoT technology that are based on worldwide standards and not proprietary ones.”
The German telco said NB-IoT allows for network deployment with only 200 kilohertz of spectrum and a 20dB coverage gain compared to existing cellular-based solutions.
In the field trial, which took place on its network in Bonn, Germany, Deutsche Telekom and Huawei were able to evaluate the capabilities of NB-IoT under commercial conditions and test the usability of NB-IoT for a first application to provide smart parking to selected users.
“NB-IoT can be deployed by software upgrade [single radio access network], which significantly reduces network deployment costs. This mode is favorable for smart terminals sharing small amounts of data for a long time,” Huawei Wireless Networks President David Wang said. “Huawei supports all operators, chip manufacturers, terminal module suppliers and device vendors, corresponding industry cooperation partners in making a concerted effort to promote rapid standardization early 2016 and commercialization late 2016.”
Etisalat ends Q3 with 9.7 million mobile subscribers in the UAE
In other EMEA news, United Arab Emirates operator Etisalat ended the third quarter of 2015 with 11.6 million total subscribers in its home market, representing a 7% increase compared to the year-ago quarter. Mobile subscribers in the UAE reached 9.7 million, climbing 9% versus the year-ago quarter. The telco offers LTE services in the UAE through spectrum in the 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz bands.
“In the UAE we have created a world-class telecommunication infrastructure that is well-ahead of any other country in the region and we will continue to invest in that infrastructure so we deliver the vision and goals of the UAE Government, such as being the first country in the world to have the fifth generation of mobile technology,” Etisalat Group’s CEO Ahmad Julfar.
Taking into account Etisalat’s overall operation, the company reached a total of 170 million subscribers at end-September. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, Etisalat operates in several countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
