The two-month NB-IoT pilot will cover areas in Seoul and will initially focus on location tracking services
Korean technology firm Samsung Electronics and compatriot telecommunications firm KT have launched a pilot of narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) service in parts of capitol city Seoul.
The test project is set to last two months, the companies said. The firms also said that they aim to expand the coverage of this technology in the near future.
KT confirmed that it will initiate its first NB-IoT pilot service with a location tracking service and further expand on its use cases to diverse business applications. For this specific pilot service, Samsung has deployed NB-IoT technology to existing LTE radio base stations and rolled out its virtualized Cellular IoT core solution (C-GSN). Further, interoperability tests between NB-IoT networks and new devices have been completed in advance, since reliable interoperability is a key prerequisite for operators prior to introducing new technologies and services to the market, the companies said.
“KT is launching its first narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) service in Seoul and metropolitan areas thanks to close collaboration with Samsung,” said Chang-Seok Seo, Executive Vice President and Head of Network Strategy Unit of KT. “IoT services will remove boundaries between industries with their ability to connect everything. KT will open up new possibilities of the IoT era by generating unprecedented services and industry convergence.”
“What we have achieved together with KT is a key industry milestone that will accelerate LTE vertical businesses based on IoT technologies,” said Jinsoo Jeong, Senior Vice President and Head of Domestic Business Marketing in Networks Business, Samsung Electronics. “As a strategic partner, we provided KT with NB-IoT features complying with all the latest enhancements in 3GPP standard specification in a short period of time to support KT’s pioneering work.”
In February 2017, the two companies had signed the supply contract for NB-IoT solutions.
Telstra opens new IoT lab in Melbourne
In related news, Australian telecommunications operator Telstra has opened a new lab to create new products and services in the IoT field.
Headquartered in Melbourne, the new facility, dubbed Telstra Labs, is open to multinationals, start-ups, and university students who want to tap Telstra’s network, technology, and expertise to develop and test new products and services.
“Anyone can come to create, test and prototype IoT solutions. We have everything you need, both software and hardware, and it’s open to all,” said Telstra’s CTO Hakan Eriksson, in a blog post.
