First specified by 3GPP in Release 13, NB-IoT is the most suitable mobile network technology for IoT applications requiring exceptionally deep coverage and extremely low power consumption. These applications are typically charaterized by low data rates and moderate reaction times of a few seconds, such as smart metering, connected trash cans, bikes, bee farms or mouse traps. The first network deployments began back in late 2017 and global commercial rollouts started in 2018. NB-IoT can be deployed inside an LTE carrier, in the LTE guard band and as a standalone solution. In the future, the very flexible numerology of 5G NR will also facilitate 5G in-band operation for NB-IoT.
