T-Mobile Netherlands will be the first operator in the country to provide nationwide coverage for its Internet of Things network, based on NB-IoT technology. The company will reach the milestone at the end of May. T-Mobile NL will activate the NB-IoT network in the coming weeks throughout the country. The operator has built its network to be as future-proof as possible, so that new standards for mobile, IoT and 5G can be efficiently implemented. The company’s SRAN network will make it possible to add new network technology, such as NB-IoT, as a software update.
T-Mobile NL will use the mast density and power of its mobile network for NB-Io, as well as its own frequencies, which will make impossible for others to interfere. The operator said this will make the technology more technically reliable and secure, also for the long-term. NB-IoT (NarrowBand Internet or Things) is a Low Power Wide Area technology that efficiently connects devices and sensors to the internet. The cost of hardware and power consumption are very low, while signal strength is ten-times stronger as GSM.
T-Mobile NL looking to cooperate with businesses
The fast growing influence of the IoT on daily life creates business and social opportunities. T-Mobile NL wants to invest in partnerships with parties that convert these opportunities into concrete IoT applications. In addition to the NB-IoT network, T-Mobile NL is also providing technical support and guidance from network experts to companies and startups to make maximum use of the network capabilities. The company is in addition trying to bring companies and disciplines together in order to find IoT solutions.
The operator noted that the number of devices, machines and sensors connected to the IoT worldwide is expected to grow almost exponentially in the coming years, jumping from 6.5 billion devices in the past year to 50 billion in 2020. The global NB-IoT standard will play an important in this growth spurt, making sure different innovations and products can be immediately applicable everywhere, T- Mobile NL said.
Run up to nationwide coverage
Last year, T-Mobile NL activated its IoT network in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Eindhoven and the Schiphol area. It then moved on to Delft, Den Bosch, Arnhem, Best, Groningen and Enschede.
Michiel Huisken, head of IoT at T-Mobile NL told Telecompaper in January that the company does not yet generate much revenue from the IoT but that this was not the goal for 2017. "We want to prove our position first in the field of IoT connectivity." "We want to prove our position first in the field of IoT connectivity."
The operator started last summer with “barbecue sessions,” informal meetings to create ideas for the IoT, together with companies.
