AQs About IoT Terminology

What Is the Internet of Things (IoT)?

The concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) involves connecting various objects - such as street lights, drones, smart meters, water treatment systems, electric vehicle chargers, air compressors, and more - through the use of embedded modules, routers, and other edge devices to the internet. This connection allows for data collection and transfer, providing an opportunity to monitor, manage, control, and optimize their functions beyond what was previously achievable.

The IoT is revolutionizing the economy and driving industries towards a subscription-based model. Its numerous applications contribute to improving farming methods, making the power grid more efficient, enhancing supply chains, increasing the reliability of industrial equipment, and ensuring safer roads and sidewalks. Furthermore, the IoT enables manufacturers to build relationships with end-users.

What are M2M communications?

M2M (machine-to-machine) generally denotes wired or wireless communication between machines. IoT solutions also belong to the M2M category, but unlike traditional M2M solutions, they leverage the internet or the Internet Protocol (IP) to transmit data.

What is a Band?

In telecommunication, a band - sometimes called a frequency band - is a specific range of frequencies in the radio frequency (RF) spectrum, which is divided among ranges from very low frequencies (vlf) to extremely high frequencies (ehf). Each band has a defined upper and lower frequency limit.

FirstNet™ is a dedicated broadband network - administered by AT&T - for first responders operating on 20 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band, known as Band 14.

It offers police departments, fire departments, and other public safety agencies a secure, dependable, high-speed broadband network, enabling the implementation of various innovative IoT applications designed to enhance public safety. These applications, which are not restricted to public safety agencies, are increasingly called the Internet of Life-Saving Things (IoLST).

Citizens Broadband Radio Services (CBRS) refers to a 150 MHz wide contiguous band of the 3.5 GHz band, which is technology agnostic. This means that various low and high-speed networking technologies, including Wi-Fi, LTE, and others, can use the band to transmit and receive data. CBRS is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States and is typically used for private LTE networks.

What Are SIM Cards?

In traditional cellular-connected devices, the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) contains the necessary credentials or subscriptions for accessing the services of a specific Mobile Network Operator (MNO) or Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO). This created a lock-in effect, where the carrier owned the SIM, and changing carriers required changing the SIM card as well.

A new type of SIM, called an Embedded SIM (eSIM) or Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card (eUICC), is changing how traditional SIM cards operate. The eSIM can be remotely provisioned to work with a new subscription, giving the user ownership of the SIM. It works with any operator subscription worldwide, supports multiple subscriptions, and can be programmed to change subscriptions with an Over-The-Air update without any physical access to the device.

While the terms eSIM and eUICC are used interchangeably, eSIM can refer to the entire solution for deploying a reprogrammable SIM card, including hardware, software, and management platform. In contrast, eUICC refers explicitly to the technology on the SIM card. The eUICC technology can be placed in a traditional plastic form factor SIM or soldered directly into the system for a truly embedded SIM. Remote provisioning capabilities can be added to any SIM form factor and used in any operating environment, from automotive and industrial to consumer.

What is Firmware Over-the-Air (FOTA)?

Firmware Over-The-Air (FOTA) is a technology that allows for wireless updates of a mobile device's operating firmware. This technology provides organizations with a cost-effective and convenient way to maintain the health of their edge devices. By improving security and reducing the need for hands-on maintenance or device replacement, FOTA allows devices to remain in the field for longer periods of time.

What is a Positioning System?

A positioning system is a system for determining the position of an object in space. One of the most well-known and commonly used positioning systems is the Global Positioning System (GPS). Positioning system technologies exist ranging from worldwide coverage with meter accuracy to workspace coverage with sub-millimeter accuracy.

What is the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)?

The term Industrial IoT encompasses IoT technologies that, when combined with emerging cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and other advancements, empower manufacturing, energy, agriculture, and other industrial sectors to merge our physical, digital, and biological universes in ways that enhance operational efficiency and create novel forms of value. This shift, commonly referred to as Industry 4.0, is leading to implementing an array of groundbreaking applications that link industrial machinery to the cloud, including innovative predictive maintenance, equipment-as-a-service (EaaS), asset tracking, and factory process control applications.

IoT gateways are crucial devices that serve as the interface between industrial equipment, appliances, and other IoT devices in the field, and cellular, Wi-Fi, or other types of networks that connect these devices to the cloud or on-premises IT systems. They include embedded modules, cellular routers, and gateways that enable seamless data transmission between devices and the network.

IoT gateways are an indispensable part of the IoT ecosystem as they facilitate data flow between devices and networks, ensuring that all data is processed and analyzed promptly and efficiently.

IoT device management solutions, also known as IoT network management solutions, are software applications that allow enterprises to oversee, control, and modify the settings of their IoT gateways, modules, and other edge devices.

These solutions facilitate the implementation and automation of firmware upgrades, security patches, and configuration modifications across an entire network infrastructure. This enhances the performance of IoT applications and improves the security of edge devices.

What is a Low-Power Wide-Area (LPWA) network?

LPWA, also known as mobile IoT, utilizes low-power, wide-area networking technologies like LTE-M and NB-IoT to transmit data at slower rates than other cellular technologies. However, LPWA is more cost-effective, energy-efficient and provides better wireless coverage in buildings, underground, and rural locations. It can also support more devices within a small area than other cellular technologies.

As a result, LPWA is an ideal option for IoT applications that require minimal data transmission, such as asset tracking, smart home battery monitoring, and safety shoe management.

What is LTE (Long-Term Evolution)?

LTE (Long-Term Evolution) is a wireless communication technology standard for mobile devices that offers high-speed connectivity and increased capacity compared to 3G technology.

What is 5G?

The fifth generation wireless cellular technology standard is 5G and succeeds the previously known 3G and 4G standards that are widely used today. This new standard allows smartphones, wireless gateways, embedded modules, and other wireless communication devices to operate across different networks as long as they support the common technology standard.

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a global organization responsible for setting wireless standards, published 5G, which comprises two different technologies: 5G Long Term Evolution (5G LTE) and 5 New Radio (5G NR).

5G LTE technology represents a significant advancement from existing 4G LTE technology, offering faster speeds, lower latency, and higher reliability. Unlike previous cellular evolutions, 5G was designed to be compatible with 4G LTE, providing a seamless migration path from 4G LTE and eliminating the need to worry about deploying 4G LTE devices today. Furthermore, 5G LTE supports existing LTE-M and NB-IoT technologies for Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) use cases, enabling low-cost asset monitoring and tracking of IoT applications that require fewer data transmissions than other IoT use cases.

The 5G NR technology stands out from existing wireless technologies by utilizing a wider range of frequency bands, including millimeter wave (mmWave) bands as high as 100 GHz. As a result, 5G NR delivers a significant boost in capacity, density, spectrum, and network efficiency compared to other cellular technologies.

The new capabilities of 5G NR enable various new connectivity use cases, such as fixed wireless broadband and pay-TV services as an alternative to fiber connectivity for the "last mile" to homes, offices, and other facilities. Additionally, the remarkable capabilities of 5G, such as ultra-fast data transmission rates, ultra-high reliability, very low latency, and quick handoffs, allow for revolutionary new applications in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), cloud-based gaming, factory automation, smart grid, and even autonomous vehicles.

What is Data Orchestration?

Data orchestration technologies play a crucial role in the IoT ecosystem by distributing business logic and processing capabilities across the cloud, local networks, and edge devices. This allows companies to manage data transmission from edge devices to the cloud more efficiently and cost-effectively, streamlining IoT application deployment, management, and security. This is particularly beneficial for applications that rely on power, bandwidth, and processing-constrained edge devices.

What are Edge-to-Cloud IoT solutions?

End-to-end IoT solutions that connect edge devices to the cloud enable companies to seamlessly build, deploy, manage, and update their IoT applications. These solutions cover everything from edge devices such as modules, routers, and gateways, to the networks they use, like cellular and Wi-Fi, and up to the cloud. This includes managing wireless connectivity and over-the-air firmware updates for edge devices.

By combining these end-to-end solutions with data orchestration technologies, businesses can enhance their IoT applications by refining how data is collected, filtered, and prioritized. This data can then be integrated into various cloud-based IT systems like ERP, CRM, and data analytics. With edge-to-cloud IoT solutions, companies can securely access and act on all the asset data generated by their IoT applications.

What is NB-IoT?

NB-IoT is a Low-Power Wide-Area (LPWA) technology standard defined by the 3GPP that enables data transmission at rates of up to 65kbps. This technology is well-suited for static sensor IoT applications, such as agricultural or pipeline monitoring. It is also known as NB1 or Cat-M2.

Developed by 3GPP, NB-IoT is a wireless telecommunications technology standard designed for the IoT. It uses the same sub-6 GHz wireless spectrum as 4G LTE, but unlike previous wireless telecommunications standards, it is optimized for IoT use cases. Along with LTE-M, NB-IoT is designed to support IoT devices that do not require high data speeds but need to be inexpensive, run on battery power for extended periods, connect to cellular networks in areas with many similar devices, and function in remote rural areas, inside buildings, or underground.

NB-IoT has several advantages for IoT use case requirements, including:

Lower cost: NB-IoT, like LTE-M and the upcoming RedCap device standard, uses half-duplex communications which reduces device complexity and cost. Additionally, NB-IoT's lower data speeds, narrow RF bandwidth, and use of a single antenna can lower module costs by up to 50 percent compared to regular LTE Cat-1 modules.
Lower power consumption: NB-IoT has features like Power Savings Mode (PSM) and Extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX), which can reduce power consumption by up to 75 percent when transmitting data. This allows IoT devices to operate using battery power for a decade or more.
Higher capacity: NB-IoT uses narrowband transmission, signaling optimization, adaptive modulation, and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), which enables up to one million devices per square kilometer to connect to the network.
Better coverage: NB-IoT uses large signal repetition, improving coverage by 5-10X compared to other cellular technologies. This means NB-IoT devices can connect to cellular networks even if they are located deep inside a building, in a remote rural location, or underground.

Yes.

The initial NB-IoT standard, Cat-NB1, was introduced in 3GPP Release 13. This version of NB-IoT provides downlink peak data rates of up to 26 kilobits per second (kbps) and uplink peak data rates of up to 62 kbps, with a latency range of 1.6 to 10 seconds.

The most recent version of NB-IoT, Cat-NB2, was introduced in 3GPP Release 14. Cat-NB2 enhances NB-IoT's peak downlink data transfer speed to 127 kbps and its uplink peak data rate to 150 kbps. Additionally, 3GPP Release 14 introduces advanced positioning technologies such as Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA) and Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), improving location accuracy.

Moreover, 3GPP Release 14 brings the Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection re-establishment feature to NB-IoT devices. This feature enables NB-IoT devices to transfer their cellular connection from one cell to another as they move between cells, without restarting the transfer process if the device encounters a radio link failure. RRC makes it possible to use Release 14 NB-IoT devices for mobile applications such as walking or biking.

NB-IoT and LTE-M are similar in many ways but have important differences.

LTE-M offers faster data rates and lower latency than NB-IoT, making it suitable for real-time IoT applications and voice communications. It also performs better for mobile IoT applications, despite Cat-NB2's mobility enhancements. LTE-M is also better suited for data-intensive IoT applications due to its higher speeds, and its natural extension of 4G LTE makes roaming between network operators easier.

On the other hand, NB-IoT has advantages over LTE-M regarding coverage. Most network operators have deployed NB-IoT networks with technologies that provide the best possible coverage improvements, while LTE-M networks are equipped with technologies that only offer partial coverage improvements. This makes NB-IoT more suitable for locations with multiple obstructions and signal loss, such as underground areas or large warehouses.

As a result, NB-IoT is ideal for simple, stationary, and low-data IoT applications, while LTE-M is better suited for more complex, mobile, and data-intensive applications.

Initially developed for the 4G LTE standard, NB-IoT and LTE-M have been incorporated into the 5G standard by 3GPP, the standards group responsible for these technologies as well as 5G. In fact, they are the only standards that 3GPP plans to support for LPWA use cases that require low cost, low power, high capacity, and low energy consumption. Additionally, NB-IoT and LTE-M can operate in band with both LTE and 5G New Radio (NR) technologies.

Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), a new capability provided by 5G NR, enables operators to use the sub-6 GHz wireless spectrum currently used by 4G LTE, NB-IoT, and LTE-M for 5G NR as well. While DSS is often seen as a way to speed up the deployment of NR by expanding the spectrum available, it will also ensure that Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) continue to support NB-IoT and LTE-M technologies for years to come.

Because 4G LTE, NB-IoT, and LTE-M can share the sub-6 GHz spectrum with NR, operators do not need to phase out or discontinue supporting these technologies to utilize the spectrum for 4G LTE, NB-IoT, and LTE-M, as well as NR technologies.

Although NB-IoT modules are all based on the same standard, there are significant variations between different vendors. When considering which module to integrate into your IoT application, several important questions exist.

Is the module multi-mode? Even though NB-IoT and LTE-M network deployments are growing rapidly, there are still countries where one network is unavailable. A multi-mode module with support for both NB-IoT and LTE-M can simplify global deployment of your IoT application, as it can connect to either type of network. For further simplification, consider using modules with embedded smart SIM (eSIM) that can switch automatically between NB-IoT and LTE-M networks.
How secure is the module? The security features built into the module can significantly impact its susceptibility to cyberattacks. Look for modules that include built-in security features, such as HTTPS, secure socket, secure boot, and free unlimited firmware over-the-air (FOTA) updates, from trustworthy companies with deep levels of IoT experience.
Is the module future-proof? Even if the module meets your current requirements, you may need to upgrade or update it in the future due to updates to your application or new network technologies. Modules that can be updated with new firmware over the air and those with a common form factor, consistent pin-out, and software interfaces will enable you to adopt new technologies and future-proof your IoT application.
Does the module support edge processing? Modules that allow you to filter, prioritize, or process data at the edge can enable you to update your IoT application's rules as your business needs change, reduce data transmission costs, and extend the battery life of your devices.

About USAT

USAT specializes in designing and deploying mobile wireless data connectivity solutions for organizations of all sizes — complete with implementation, training, proof of concept (POC), system auditing, and on-site RF surveying services with optional engineering maintenance contracts. Our team not only helps you select, provision, and activate devices, we make sure they work in practical applications and real-life situations.

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For over 25 years, USAT has provided mobile communications solutions for various retail applications across the USA. With our extensive catalog of world-class routers, gateways, and software designed for remote monitoring and management in even the harshest environments — you can count on us to get and keep you connected.

Better mobile connectivity translates to less manual equipment maintenance, reduced downtime, and an overall increase in your business's ROI. Contact the experts at USAT to learn how our wireless networking solutions can help meet your organization's exacting needs.

FAQs About IoT Terminology

What Is the Internet of Things (IoT)?

What are M2M communications?

What is a Band?

What Are SIM Cards?

What is Firmware Over-the-Air (FOTA)?

What is a Positioning System?

What is the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)?

What is a Low-Power Wide-Area (LPWA) network?

What is LTE (Long-Term Evolution)?

What is 5G?

What is Data Orchestration?

What are Edge-to-Cloud IoT solutions?

What is NB-IoT?

About USAT

Extending Private Networks Through Macro Network Integration

The Differences Between WAN Bonding, Carrier Aggregation, and Link Bonding

Intelligent Link Bonding for Application Resiliency and Performance

Simplifying Network Management Across Multi-Manufacturer Devices

Ericsson Enterprise Wireless’s NetCloud SASE

Augmenting Bandwidth with 5G

Extending Private Networks Through Macro Network Integration

The Differences Between WAN Bonding, Carrier Aggregation, and Link Bonding

Intelligent Link Bonding for Application Resiliency and Performance

Simplifying Network Management Across Multi-Manufacturer Devices

Ericsson Enterprise Wireless’s NetCloud SASE

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What Is the Internet of Things (IoT)?

What are M2M communications?

What is a Band?

What Are SIM Cards?

What is Firmware Over-the-Air (FOTA)?

What is a Positioning System?

What is the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)?

What is a Low-Power Wide-Area (LPWA) network?

What is LTE (Long-Term Evolution)?

What is 5G?

What is Data Orchestration?

What are Edge-to-Cloud IoT solutions?

What is NB-IoT?

About USAT

Extending Private Networks Through Macro Network Integration

The Differences Between WAN Bonding, Carrier Aggregation, and Link Bonding

Intelligent Link Bonding for Application Resiliency and Performance

Simplifying Network Management Across Multi-Manufacturer Devices

Ericsson Enterprise Wireless’s NetCloud SASE

Augmenting Bandwidth with 5G

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