The initial NB-IoT testing kicked off earlier this year with focus on smart metering and tracking applications
Swiss firm u‑blox, which specializes in wireless and positioning modules and chips, has announced a partnering with Chinese vendor Huawei, Brazilian mobile operator Vivo, and other firms including CAS Tecnologia and PinMyPet, to run lab and field tests of narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) technologies in Brazil.
The European company said testing started in the first quarter of 2017 with an initial focus on metering and tracking applications.
“We are excited to partner with u‑blox to help our mutual customers migrate to the new, low‑power and low‑cost Narrowband IoT technology that also offers excellent coverage,” said Vivo IoT Senior Manager Eduardo Takeshi.
“The SARA‑N2 NB1 module delivers the reliable, low power, and optimized LTE cellular connectivity necessary to our pet tracking device,” said Marcos Buson, director at PinMyPet.
“The low power consumption of u‑blox SARA‑N2 and improved coverage of NB‑IoT networks in Brazil will bring important benefits to our solutions,” said Welson Regis Jacometti, CEO at CAS Tecnologia, a company which specializes in smart metering in Latin America.
The u‑blox SARA‑N2 NB‑IoT module is claimed to be the first cellular NB‑IoT module compliant to the 3GPP Release 13, Narrowband IoT (LTE Cat NB1) standard. Designed for use in applications such as smart buildings and cities, utilities metering, white goods, asset tracking, and agricultural and environmental monitoring, the module will operate for over 10 years from a single‑cell primary battery, the Swiss company said.
“Allowing for easy migration across 2G, 3G and 4G, cellular modules from u‑blox support a comprehensive set of communication protocols with minimal signalling overhead to conserve power,” said Suresh Ram, president of u‑blox America. “We are working with our partners and customers to introduce products with our modules where longevity of operation and reachability in poor propagation conditions are mission critical.”
