T-Mobile announced Tuesday that its forthcoming narrowband Internet of Things plan would provide up to 12 MB per connected device for $6 annually.
The carrier expects to launch its NB-IoT plan — the nation’s first — by mid-year. Although the initial price will be available for a limited time, company officials said the technology is significantly cheaper than Cat-M1 IoT networks from rivals Verizon and AT&T.
T-Mobile conducted tests of narrowband technology, which utilizes narrow spectrum ranges, in Las Vegas last year. NB-IoT can also operates in unused, or “guard,” bands, which offer improved performance without competition from other data traffic.
Officials argued that IoT systems, particularly asset tracking, smart city and smart agriculture applications, do not need significant bandwidth but will require large numbers of sensors and long battery lives.
“T-Mobile is taking advantage of the latest IoT tech to make it simpler — and massively more affordable — for businesses and cities to connect things,” COO Mike Sievert said in a statement.
The LTE Advanced technology also provides a pathway to next-generation 5G IoT systems and is built on the 3GPP standard.
In addition, T-Mobile announced Tuesday that NB-IoT modules made by Sierra Wireless and u-blox were certified for use on its network.
“T-Mobile’s NB-IoT network in the U.S. makes cellular the superior option for connecting IoT solutions, which will benefit existing applications and enable many new ones,” Sierra Wireless SVP Dan Schieler said in a statement.
Filed Under: IoT • IIoT • Internet of things • Industry 4.0, Infrastructure