- Two entry packages available to experience and pilot NB-IoT solutions
- NB-IoT based smart parking solutions introduced in several German cities
- Rapid NB-IoT network expansion in Germany and across Europe with nationwide rollout in the Netherlands already accomplished
Deutsche Telekom today offers its first NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) service packages in Germany as it rapidly expands the availability of the NB-IoT network across its footprint and sets the scene for its 2020 5G communications standard. The ready-for-sale NB-IoT service packages in Germany consist of two options: NB-IoT Access, a streamlined NB-IoT device connectivity package, as well as NB-IoT Access & Cloud of Things, a more comprehensive NB-IoT product connectivity package, which also includes Deutsche Telekom’s Cloud of Things platform.
The NB-IoT Access entry package is available from EUR 199 and includes a 6-month activation of up to 25 SIM-cards with 500 KB per SIM pooled in Germany’s NB-IoT network. As a further optional add-on – a private APN with IPsec-key encryption is available. The NB-IoT Access & Cloud of Things entry package is available from EUR 299 and additionally includes direct access to Deutsche Telekom’s Cloud of Things platform for device and data management. Both packages will enable customers to easily prototype their NB-IoT solutions and pilot them in their markets. A full NB-IoT service pricing is available on request.
“Deutsche Telekom believes that NarrowBand IoT is a radical Innovation in our market paving the road to digitization and our 5G services available from 2020,” says Hagen Rickmann, Head of Business Customer Segment, Telekom Deutschland. “NarrowBand IoT enables ambitious new business models, huge scale and a secure operating environment, which is exactly what our small and medium enterprise customers are looking for today as they increasingly move their business operations online.”
Smart parking solutions among the first NB-IoT services in Germany
In parallel to the European NB-IoT network rollout and commercial introduction in Germany, Deutsche Telekom already actively works with numerous customers and partners on the implementation of real-live solutions using the innovative technology. Smart parking is one such area: In Hamburg, a smart parking service is being introduced, which provides information about parking spaces to drivers in real time, digitizing up to 11,000 public and private spaces, including parking garages, with the support of Deutsche Telekom’s NB-IoT technology. Darmstadt, Duisburg, Dortmund, Merzig and Moers will also introduce smart parking solutions in their city centers, enabling citizens to book parking spaces even ahead of time for a worry-free visit. For the parking search in real-time, sensor data transmitted via NB-IoT is being evaluated in combination with information from parking payment machines and other data sources across town to generate reliable probability calculations.
Rapid growth of NB-IoT ecosystem predecessor to 5G future
The commercial introduction of new, standardized and cost-effective NB-IoT services comes on the heels of Deutsche Telekom’s NB-IoT network expansion across its markets. The nationwide rollout in The Netherlands has been finalized at the end of May, making it the first country worldwide to be completely covered by an NB-IoT network with services already being offered to selected customers. The rollout in Germany is progressing well, and other countries within Deutsche Telekom’s footprint, including Greece, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia and Croatia are also preparing to introduce NB-IoT. In the US, T-Mobile plans to support NB-IoT from 2018 onwards.
The NB-IoT technology is hailed as the most robust answer to current customer demand for innovative Internet of Things solutions. Its key advantages are the low-cost factor due to low bandwidth demand, good in-building coverage, extremely long battery life of connected devices, as well as its usage of licensed spectrum and approved standardization by 3GPP. As digitization filters into just about all aspects of life, NB-IoT is designed for large-scale use and paves the road to 5G, Deutsche Telekom’s completely new network concept, which integrates fixed and mobile networks.
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