The NB-IoT deployment will support trials of IoT devices and apps in the operator’s lab
Swedish network infrastructure vendor Ericsson will build a narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) system for Taiwanese telecommunications operator Chunghwa Telecom.
Ericsson reps said Chunghwa Telecom will use the NB-IoT system to trial a range of IoT devices and applications in its laboratory.
NB-IoT is a 3GPP standards-based low power wide area network (LPWAN) technology that offers significant improvements in areas such as deep indoor coverage, power consumption, device complexity, system capacity and spectrum efficiency.
The end-to-end NB-IoT solution developed for the Taiwanese telco will comprise a range of Ericsson offerings including a radio system, massive IoT radio access network (RAN) software, virtual evolved packet core (vEPC), virtual subscriber data management (vSDM) and IoT smart device and application service on the AppIoT platform. The vEPC is deployed as a dedicated IoT packet core, using network slicing functionality, enabling Chunghwa Telecom to explore massive machine-type communications use cases and rapidly bring new services to market, Ericsson explained.
“Ericsson has long been our leading network provider and has demonstrated the strong device life-cycle management and integration capabilities that are required for a system of this type. NB-IoT technology is one of our primary focuses in 2017, and we are keen to explore more opportunities based on the new technology,” Chen Shyang-Yih, executive vice president of Chunghwa Telecom and president of telecommunication laboratories, said.
“This agreement represents a real milestone for both companies, and shows that we have made rapid progress since signing a 5G memorandum of understanding during Mobile World Congress 2017. Together we will identify 5G use cases and applications for the digital transformation of industry verticals such as transportation and utilities,” Håkan Cervell, president of Ericsson Taiwan, said.
Chunghwa Telecom ended May with a total of 10.7 million subscribers in the mobile telephony segment. Total 3G/4G subscribers reached 10.6 million, according to the telco’s latest available figures.
NB-IoT has seen growing interest around the world. T-Mobile is betting on NB-IoT given a successful test project in Las Vegas, Nev., that will give way to broader smart city initiatives. Chinese vendor Huawei has developed an NB-IoT smart meter for Portuguese utility EDP Distribuição in partnership with Janz CE and u-blox. EDP Distribuição is using this technology for a pilot project as part of the UPGRID project of the Horizon 2020 Program of the European Commission. Also in the utility space, ZTE Corporation has announced the release of its NB-IoT intelligent energy management system globally. The new system, which has been installed as a pilot project in Zhangjiang intelligent park, was showcased and demonstrated during Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai late last month. The NB-IoT Intelligent Energy Management System leverages IoT technologies for energy-saving and emission reduction management, the vendor said.
