In addition to narrowband IoT, Nokia and M1 plan HetNet deployment to face increasing data demand
Singapore telecom services provider M1 Limited (M1) and Nokia have signed a strategic partnership to roll out a nationwide commercial NB-IoT (narrowband internet of things) network by the first half of 2017.
Nokia said that this roll out will be the company’s first large-scale deployment with an operator in Asia.
“NB-IoT technology is the key to connecting the coming wave of smart devices. Our strategic partnership with Nokia to deploy an advanced nationwide NB-IoT network strengthens our ability to support Singapore’s IoT eco-system, to drive the innovative and effective new fleet management, smart metering, public safety and other smart solutions deployed by our growing customers in the corporate and Government segments,” M1’s CEO Karen Kooi, said.
“Nokia’s joint collaboration of NB-IoT deployment with M1 lays an important groundwork for further application of LTE-based IoT services. We will continue to work with our customers and make R&D efforts for innovative technologies in enabling IoT connectivity,” Nokia’s SVP of Asia Pacific and Japan, Sandeep Girotra, said.
The NB-IoT standards were finalized by the GSMA Standards body 3GPP in June 2016.
NB-IoT networks and devices are designed to deliver improved network performance for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. Commercial NB-IoT devices are expected to be available by mid-2017.
“NB-IoT is emerging to be a potentially promising technology for smart city’s machine-to machine type of applications and services. We look forward to working with NB-IoT partners to explore the use of NB-IoT in developing innovative Smart Nation services that improve our citizens’ lives and make our businesses more productive,” said Jacqueline Poh, head of Singapore’s Government Technology Agency (GovTech).
In related news, M1 also announced the deployment of a Heterogeneous Network (HetNet) in Singapore in partnership with Nokia.
The telco said that the integration of large and small cells with different wireless radio technologies such as cellular and WiFi, will enable M1 to provide the best coverage and network capacity to meet increasing demand for data.
As part of its HetNet deployment, M1 will progressively roll out an overlay of integrated Nokia’s Flexi Zone small cells and Wi-Fi equipment across hundreds of high-traffic hotspots nationwide, to complement its advanced 4G+ network. Through LTE-Wi-Fi Aggregation (LWA) technology, the telco expects to deliver peak download speeds of more than 1Gbps by 2017.
Deployment sites will include MRT/LRT stations, malls and popular outdoor areas such as Marina Bay and Clarke Quay.
M1 currently has nearly 2 million customers in Singapore using its fixed and mobile services.
