The mobile operator velcom launches a narrowband network for the Internet of Things (IoT) in Belarus.
The test area of this network will be deployed by the operator in cooperation with the company ZTE on the premises of the football arena on Pobediteli Avenue in Minsk, which will host the International Forum on Telecommunications, Information and Banking Technologies “TIBO-2017”.
In the future, the IoT network will pass a number of tests to be put then into commercial operation. It is expected that the new infrastructure would cover virtually all sectors in the future: from urban water supply to “smart home”.
“Our new network will be based on the NB IoT technology (Narrow Band Internet of Things), which has not been previously applied in Belarus. Its feature is to operate in the band of 900 MHz, where it occupies a narrow band of frequencies of 200 kHz. And due to special algorithms, the network is capable of operating even in hard-to-reach places like basements and lowlands, as well as behind thick walls and ceilings”, as the velcom’s press office clarifies.
The NB IoT standard will gradually replace the 2G technology, actually applied for M2M solutions, since it outclasses it in terms of range, energy efficiency and cost effectiveness. The new network will exceed by 30 times the capacity of GSM communications in terms of signal penetration.
