Vodafone has doubled the number of sites in its Narrowband IoT network to meet increasing demand for IoT services.
The network has announced that NB-IoT coverage has now reached 98 per cent of the UK geography.
NB-IoT refers to a low power, wide area network technology that is designed to enable efficient communications across wide geographical footprints.
It supports long battery life and reduced costs for devices with low data demand. NB-IoT supports long battery life and reduced costs for devices with low data demand.
NB-IoT offers a number of benefits over utilising mobile networks for certain use cases and devices:
· Lifetime of devices and batteries can be extended to as long as ten years
· Cost of modems and devices is reduced, meaning reduced overall capital expenditure
· Deployment is more scalable and lower cost
· Coverage is extended due to lower signal requirements for data transmission
· Maintenance requirements are lower for IoT devices in remote and inaccessible locations
The network is already being used by customers across multiple industries, including SES Water and United Utilities to detect leaks in underground pipes or other infrastructure.
Vodafone can create tailored connectivity solutions for different IoT cases, rather than relying on a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
Vodafone UK business director Anne Sheehan said: “NB-IoT is a part of our network that is often overlooked, but it but it is becoming increasingly important, bringing data from a growing variety of devices to power decision-making in more organisations.
“This is a network which has been designed for low-bandwidth devices, allowing for coverage that goes beyond 4G, and devices where battery life could be extended to as long as ten years. In IoT, customers might want to use our 4G network for real-time, data-intensive analytics, while others might need a connectivity solution for non-time sensitive use cases, such as environmental monitoring.
“We have invested in NB-IoT because we want to offer our customers the right tools for the right job, in a way which is affordable and accessible for every customer.”
