T-Mobile is the first operator in Austria to roll out the standardized Narrowband IoT technology , or NB-IoT for short, commercially. The Lower Austrian state capital St. Pölten will be the first Austrian city from November, which is completely supplied with NB-IoT, the Internet of Things network. The nationwide rollout of NB-IoT will be completed by T-Mobile by the fall of 2018. NB-IoT is particularly suitable for cities that want to become "smart" - for example, in parking management, in the use of intelligent lighting and charging stations or in networked garbage collection.
"IoT use cases usually only have to transfer a few kilobytes, for example 500 KB per month. In the M2M and IoT markets this can already cover 70 to 80 percent of the requirements. That's why NB-IoT is very important for digitizing Austria as a business location and will pave the way for digitization and for our 5G services, "says Rüdiger Köster, CTO T-Mobile Austria, on the launch of the NB IoT rollout in Austria.
Cost-effective alternative to the traditional mobile network
The main advantages of the NB-IoT technology are the low hardware costs and total cost of ownership, the improved supply in buildings and low power consumption with NB-IoT typical use. In addition, the use of licensed spectrum and 3GPP standardization ensures LTE-based security. The ongoing modernization of T-Mobile's SRAN network will allow the addition of new network technologies, such as NB-IoT, through simple software updates. In combination with the use of own frequencies, this provides ideal conditions to offer NB-IoT in Austria nationwide, fast, reliable and secure.
Showcase in Vienna's T-Center: Smart Parking
In February 2017, T-Mobile presented an NB-IoT showcase for the first time. Five parking spaces in front of the T-Mobile Shop in the T-Center on the Viennese Rennweg became "smart". Sensors on the ground surface detect overlying cars and transmit the corresponding data using NB-IoT. In a tablet app is displayed in real time, whether and which parking spaces are occupied or free and how long a car is already there. By networking parking spaces via NB-IoT, their utilization can be optimized. In addition to smart parking, there are many other uses of NB-IoT technology.
NB-IoT Prototyping Hub Demonstrates Smart Innovations
With its NB-IoT Prototyping Hub, Deutsche Telekom is already developing the NB-IoT ecosystem. The program brings together customers and prospects with IoT developers to accelerate time to market. Launched in 2016, the initiative has since attracted over 100 developers with pioneering solutions for the new technology.