Elisa has become the first in Finland to have a national network ready for NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) that is available in every Finnish municipality.
NB-IoT is a new technology that consumes very little power. It works over the normal 4G network and uses only a small part of the network’s bandwidth to connect a large number of devices to the network. The good coverage of the NB-IoT network is particularly beneficial for companies. It allows connected measuring equipment to be installed underground, for instance, or in places that were not possible before because of poor coverage.
– Thanks to NB-IoT technology, simple and inexpensive devices, such as sensors, can be connected to the Internet. This makes it easy to analyse the data collected by wireless sensors. Elisa already has dozens of customers who use NB-IoT solutions, and the number is growing all the time because there are countless applications that can use this new technology and we are now able to deliver solutions everywhere in Finland, says Vice President Petteri Svensson from Elisa.
NB-IoT devices are gradually becoming more common, and applications are continuously being developed. NB-IoT technology consumes very little power, and therefore, the battery life of equipment using it can be up to ten years in ideal cases. Information produced by networked devices can be transferred more frequently than before and even in real time, if necessary.
Elisa’s NB-IoT network has been in use since last October, when it was tested with Enevo, a waste management company, as well as HappyOrNot and Prisma Kangasala. Now Elisa’s NB-IoT solutions can be delivered everywhere in Finland.