discussion on iot technologies – cat m1 and nb-iot (cat m2)

MT09.06.16Radisys Corporation - CONFIDENTIAL

Discussion on IoT technologies – CAT M1 and NB-IoT (CAT M2). Challenges, benefits and current operator strategies on both

Hans Kramer

(VP Services & Support)

MWC 2017

2Radisys Corporation - CONFIDENTIAL

Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) Technologies


Where will CAT M1 and NB IoT be applicable


CAT M1 (eMTC) NB IoT (CAT M2)3GPP Release R13 R13Downlink Peak Rate 1Mbps 250kbpsUplink Peak Rate 250kbps (multi-tone) 20kbps (single – tone)Number of Antennas 1 1Duplex Mode Full or Half Duplex Half DuplexDevice Receive BW 1.08MHz 180 khzReceiver Chains 1 (SISO) 1 (SISO)Device Transmit Power 20 / 23 dBm 20 / 23 dBmVoLTE Support Yes Not supportedMobility Support Full Mobility No connected mobility (only idle mode reselection)Advantage Coverage, Peak data rate;

availabilityGreater flexibility in spectrum that can be utilized

and mode of operation (inband, guard band, standalone), cheaper


What’s in Common

• Licensed spectrum (LTE)• Low Power• GPS• Small size• Security• Low cost• Multi frequency band support• Deployments expected to start in H1 2017

• Ongoing trial and limited roll outs

• Targets• Smart Cities• Asset Management• Industrial Enterprise• Wearables

Source: u-blox, Sequans


Few Technology Considerations (Challenges)

• Low cost, low power consumption and long range are key advantages• But low complexity, which is needed to bring down module / device costs, has

been achieved via trade-offs:1. Due to limited downlink capacity, NB IoT is planned to only acknowledge 50% of

messages serviced by the wireless technology • design (found in 3GPP Specification TR45.820) NB-IoT• If more messages are acknowledged then the capacity will be hit harder• Can this work for all use cases (say critical medical sensors) if 100% acknowledgement is bypassed

2. Delay and latency caused by the buffering of messages and data in what is called transmit packet aggregation• The 3GPP capacity specifications rely on bundling periodic reports into a single larger transmission,

which cellular technology needs in order to handle communication transactions efficiently


Cat-M1 Overview: Salient Technology Aspects

• 3GPP releases 10, 11 and 12 have addressed specific requirements for MTC (Machine Type Communications). Cat-1 is a low performance LTE device but not particularly optimized for MTC. Cat-0 is the first device targeted towards MTC. Cat-0 devices are designed for low cost and low power consumption.

• 3GPP release 13 has introduced eMTC (enhanced MTC) or LTE-M or Category M or Cat-M1 which includes additional cost reduction measures, especially lower bandwidths in the uplink and downlink, lower data rates and reduced transmit power.

• The design goals for Cat-M1 devices are low cost, enhanced coverage and extended device battery life.

• The key changes that are incorporated for Cat-M1 are as follows.• Cat-M1 UEs transmit or receive only over a narrow band of 6 RBs. This is to lower device cost. A cell can however

support other category UEs over wider BW.• The first few symbols for control information transmission are not applicable for Cat-M UEs. Since Cat-M1 UEs can

only read 6 RBs, whereas control region is spread across entire BW.• MPDCCH instead of PDCCH is used for Cat-M1 devices. MPDCCH is similar to EPDCCH albeit with repetitions.• Cross sub frame scheduling. MPDCCH and PDSCH/PUSCH are on different sub frames.• Option for repeating transmissions to meet coverage requirements. IoT devices are expected to be located in deep

indoors with poor coverage. CEMode_B UEs are expected to have very poor coverage compared to CEMode_A, and hence would require high number of TX repetitions.

• Enhanced DRX to enable configuring Cat-M1 device beyond the previous upper limit or 2.56 sec. This will extend battery life of device to many years. In addition Rel-12 PSM (Power Saving Mode) will also extend the battery life of devices.


CAT M1 Deployments

• Verizon• According to Chris Schmidt, executive director, device technology at Verizon Labs, the company hasn’t

revealed the specific markets where CAT-M is available, but it is working with potential customers and expects to soon have a CAT-M customer deployment.

• The company is on track to have CAT-M available nationwide by end of first quarter 2017.• Interestingly, Schmidt said one use case for CAT-M that is attracting some attention is voice (VoLTE).

• He said that security companies are looking at using CAT-M to deliver voice capability in certain security scenarios. For example, with a home security system it may be easier to communicate with the homeowner via voice instead of data.

• However, Schmidt added that CAT-M isn’t being eyed as a technology for regular voice conversations. “It’s something we want to trial,” he said, noting that the company will test it during the first half of next year.

• Other operators are beginning to trial the technology• AT&T is piloting CAT-M in San Francisco• KPN in the Netherlands just completed a trial of CAT-M using equipment from Qualcomm and Ericsson

• Ericsson demo at CES• A fleet management application and shows a truck with sensors measuring conditions on the truck such as

door ajar, accident notification, and temperature onboard

Source: Verizon, Ericsson, Qualcomm, AT&T, KPN


NB-IoT Overview: Salient Technology Aspects

• Narrow band support of 180 kHz• To lower the hardware costs, NB devices will only operate on a very narrow 180 KHz spectrum.

• Single tone with 15 kHz and/or 3.75 kHz and Multi with 15 kHz subcarriers• Power efficiency is extremely important for NB devices. To aid longer battery life, UL transmissions are in units of sub-

carriers instead of Resource Block.

• New Physical channels, NPSS, NSSS, NPBCH, NPDCCH, NPDSCH, NPUSCH, NPRACH• Completely new set of Physical channels optimized for NB Radio transmissions.

• Cross sub-frame scheduling• NB devices are latency insensitive and are limited in terms of bandwidth. Hence one NPDSCH/NPUSCH transmission

can span across multiple sub frames and NPDCCH and the corresponding NPDSCH/NPUSCH are transmitted in different sub frames.

• Repetitions for coverage enhancement• Unlike traditional LTE networks, cellular IoT has higher coverage requirements. Transmissions with repetitions (up to

2048) enhances network coverage to NB devices located in deep indoors.

• Mandatory Control Plane CIoT optimization• Data is directly sent over NAS without AS security/Header Comp. Limited RRC procedures.

• Optional User Plane CIoT optimization• RRC Suspend/Resume procedures to reduce signaling overhead for Idle-Connected state transitions.


Deutsche Telecom NB IoT Update

• As the first company to push NarrowBand-IoT across Europe, we are proud to provide further evidence of Deutsche Telekom's technology leadership,” says Claudia Nemat, Board Member for Technology and Innovation at Deutsche Telekom.

• Base station upgrade to support NarrowBand-IoTusing the 900MHz and 800MHz frequency.

• In Germany, Deutsche Telekom will commercially launch NB-IoT in the second quarter of 2017, and already runs several pilots with large customers in the areas of smart metering, smart parking and asset tracking.

• In the Netherlands, the nationwide implementation of the NB-IoT network is scheduled to be completed in 2017 with several customers,

Source: DT


Vodafone NB-IoT Deployment in Spain

• Valencia and Madrid are the first cities in Spain with NB-IoT. • As part of a nationwide roll-out, we will extend coverage to Barcelona, Bilbao,

Málaga and Seville by the end of March 2017, when there will be over 1,000 mobile sites supporting NB-IoT.

• Every NB-IoT mobile site can connect more than 100,000 devices.• Our Spanish NB-IoT network was deployed within existing 800 MHz spectrum.• That is the optimal use of Vodafone Spain’s 4G spectrum and will maximise the

signal strength and coverage.

Source: Vodafone


Radisys Cat-M and NB-IoT Product Positioning

• Radisys 5G v1.0• Radisys eNB solution for Cat-M1/NB-IoT

• Competitive Value Proposition• Narrowband Radio Access Technology for massive devices

(IoT)• Fully compliant to 3GPP Rel-13/14 LTE Architecture

• 1.4MHz Carrier BW for Cat-M1• 180KHz Carrier BW for NB-IoT

• Strong collaboration with eco system partners including Silicon Manufacturers and Carriers

• Active discussion with leading NA Carrier to demonstrate Cat-M interop by Q1 2017

• Active discussion with leading APAC Carrier to demonstrate NB-IoT interop by Q2 2017

Thank You


About 9 billion “things” — from connected cars and traffic lights to asset trackers on ships, utility meters and household appliances — now connect to the IoT. The total is expected to rise to between 20 billion and 50 billion by 2020.

Hans KramerVP Services & Support