The U.K telco tested modules from Neul and Qualcomm against Nokia, Huawei and Ericsson systems
U.K telecommunications group Vodafone has been testing the interoperability of NB-IoT modules from several vendors in the markets where the telco has operations.
“As a company committed to a multi-vendor strategy, we understand the importance of a healthy device and network ecosystem in delivering the best service to customers at a competitive price,” Luke Ibbetson, Vodafone Group’s Head of Research & Development and Technology Strategy, said. “We have tested devices from Neul and Qualcomm against Huawei, Ericsson and Nokia systems in multiple regions. All of these vendors’ NB-IoT Radio Access Network (RAN) technology has been successfully interconnected with Vodafone’s IoT core network,” he added.
“Since completing the initial roll-out of the first fully standardized commercial NB-IoT network in Spain, Huawei has been working closely with Vodafone and its network partners to verify the interconnection capability between Huawei’s NB-IoT RAN, Vodafone’s strategic IoT core network and all currently available commercial NB-IoT modules,” Edward Deng, President of Wireless Network Product Line at Huawei, said. “We are pleased to say that all systems have passed successfully through the interconnect test program and we look forward to expanding the scale of our NB-IoT roll-out with Vodafone.”
“Ericsson and Vodafone are working closely to deliver NB-IoT coverage to Vodafone’s commercial networks. This also involves successful interconnectivity testing of our system with commercial NB-IoT chipsets and multiple device vendors. NB-IoT is a key technology enabling smart cities and other massive IoT applications,” Eric Parsons, Head of Product Line 4G RAN and RAN Mobile Broadband at Ericsson, said.
Vodafone said that more devices will be tested and approved in the coming months. The company also said that it is working alongside the GSMA and with the wider industry to ensure that NB-IoT has multi-operator, seamless and predictable coverage around the world.
In February this year, Vodafone deployed what it claimed to be the world’s first commercial NB-IoT service, based on fully integrated 3GPP standards, via a remote software upgrade of over 1,000 existing 4G base stations in six major cities in Spain.
Earlier this week, Dutch operator Vodafone Netherlands has activated its NB-IoT network in 20 locations across the country.
The new NB-IoT network is already operational in nine cities across the Netherlands. The new technology had already been introduced at VodafoneZiggo offices in Maastricht, Utrecht and Amsterdam. The network is now also active in several locations in the cities of Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Hilversum, Den Bosch, Groningen, Delft and Schiphol.
