Telia first to deploy NB-IoT in Finland

Telia is the first operator in Finland to bring the Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) technology to its network. The new technology, designed for the Internet of Things, makes it possible to easily connect a huge number of sensors directly to the mobile network in order to collect real-time data, even in challenging places.

“Many businesses across the Nordics and Baltics, large and small, are looking to IoT to drive efficiency in their operations by monitoring assets or steering production processes for example, and to innovate richer services for their customers. The upgrade in Finland, which was made to our entire network, enables the Internet of Things to reach massive scale, cost effectively, which can help smart cities and smart homes develop, and even track our pets and monitor our health. We are rolling out this upgrade across the Telia footprint, and anticipate launching commercial services in all main markets by year end,” says Björn Hansen, Head of Telia Company's IoT business.

Smart mailbox

One of the first users is the Finnish postal service Posti, which has cooperated with Telia in developing the world’s first smart mailbox utilizing the NB-IoT technology

“The new IoT technology is the most significant step we have taken in our network since the launch of the 4G network. Low-cost sensors can be used wherever data is to be collected, and the network is able to meet the connection needs of a huge number of sensors. This type of sharing of network capacity for different purposes is one of the features that has been expected of 5G networks,” says Telia Finland CTO Jari Collin.

Narrowband with good coverage

NB-IoT is a new network technology that uses only a small amount of network bandwidth to connect IoT devices to the network affordably and reliably. A single base station can serve thousands of highly energy-efficient devices – a simple sensor can provide measurement data for ten years with the same power source. Good coverage guarantees that measuring and monitoring can also be carried out in areas with weaker coverage, such as a basement or underground premises.

“Adding NB-IoT in our networks across all markets means that we basically will have everything in place to enable our customers to fully utilize the best of what mobile networks have to offer on the journey towards 5G. Many customers’ use cases will develop with NB-IoT and LTE-M and some continue to evolve once 5G functionality is here,“ says Gabriela Styf Sjöman, Head of Group Networks, Telia Company.