NTT DoCoMo NB-IoT/LTE-M

2020: Turning of NB-IoT network

On April 2, 2020 it became known that the Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo contracted on March 31, 2020 the network for Internet of Things in the NB-IoT standard. At this LTE-M its expediency questionable will work still, but also. The price became the main reason of fiasco of NB-IoT in the land of the rising sun. In consciousness of clients confidence took roots that Internet of Things is the inexpensive service worth pair dollars in a year. And in terms of payment of traffic they are right. But the cost of the equipment, the software and labor power which are necessary for NB-IoT work require more costs are incomparable. And, of course, operators are not ready to that the market turned from rudimentary into mass at their expense.

Very strange situation turns out. That the NB-IoT technology became mass and cheap, time and money is necessary. And they, in turn, will appear only if NB-IoT will bring income here and now. A year later after start in NTT DoCoMo decided that yet not the best moment for burning of money waiting for rapid growth. The world is on the threshold of recession, and the last that will want the company, it to be spent for modern technologies, let potentially they also will give positive financial effect in the future. Not all the future will be able to live before.

On the other hand, there is one more standard which operators in the networks can use, it is LTE-M. However, it is considered that LTE-M — good replacement to m2m-services based on GSM network, but is wrong to compare this technology as NB-IoT provides incompatibly smaller energy consumption that, in turn, is crucial for the majority of cases of Internet of Things to NB-IoT. Telemetry sensors sometimes are located in such places that replacement of the battery in them can become quite difficult action, and during long time — even years — only NB-IoT can provide work.

Certainly, there is still LP-WAN the standards using unlicensed frequencies, but about LoRa WAN and other technologies for a long time nothing is heard. Perhaps it is connected with the fact that deployment of similar networks is conducted either by the companies independently, or independent operators who, as well as other companies, are strongly limited in opportunities of investments into growth today.

The source reported that in Russia NB-IoT networks are unrolled by all operators except Tele2 (it only tested work of this technology together with Rostelecom). In Europe fierce fight between operator technologies (NB-IoT, LTE-M) and the technologies using frequencies of an unlicensed range is conducted (LoRa and others). In the USA T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T was started by NB-IoT networks, AT&T also offers services^[1].

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