Ericsson, DNA and other partners combined NB-IoT and cloud-based services
Finnish mobile operator DNA and Swedish vendor Ericsson, together with Enermix and UnSeen Technologies, have cooperated to produce an NB-IoT technology-based service for measuring related to indoor air conditioning systems.
The Nordic telco said the new service is provided to customers through the Talotohtori cloud service.
Together with its partners, DNA has successfully tested the NB-IoT technology in practice in a commercial mobile network. The participants in the pilot project included UnSeen Technologies, Enermix, a Kesko retail store and a number of suppliers. In the pilot project, sensors measuring air pressure and temperature were connected to the Internet. UnSeen Technologies was responsible for connecting the devices to the network.
“We believe that NB-IoT technology will benefit the Talotohtori property management service. It enables a new, cost-effective way of connecting more and more individual sensors to our service,” said Janne Heinonen, CEO of Enermix.
“The aggregate costs of data transfer will fall considerably. The number of business viable applications will increase remarkably. Competent use of technology provides opportunity to enhance the business competitiveness,” said Esa Alanen, CEO of UnSeen Technologies.
DNA believes NB-IoT will be key to solve some challenges posed by the increasing number of connected devices. “The Internet of Things sets new challenges for network resources, as the number of connected devices will multiply. The Narrow-Band IoT, or NB-IoT, will respond to this challenge. Depending on the customer need, DNA will extend its NB-IoT technology considerably during 2017”, said Jarkko Laari, Director of Radio Networks at DNA.
“The network device coverage will expand to areas that are more difficult to access, such as the ground or smart meters in basements, where it has previously been impossible or very expensive to replace or charge the battery,” added Olli Sirkka, Head of Ericsson Finland.
Ericsson forecasts that in 2022 there will be 29 billion connected smart devices globally, of which 18 billion will be IoT devices.
