MegaFon tested NB-IoT for housing and communal services. Object Scale Local Area Networks

PJSC MegaFon and Qualcomm Technologies Inc. successfully completed joint testing of the capabilities of Narrow technology Band IoT LTE (NB-IoT - Narrowband Internet of Things). For testing, the 900 MHz band was used. MegaFon noted that the test allows preparing formalized requirements for manufacturers of IoT modules, software developers, system integrators who plan to develop and implement their devices to work on MegaFon's network in the NB-IoT standard. The introduction of NB-IoT technology is another step in preparing MegaFon's infrastructure for launching networks mobile communications fifth generation.

MegaFon and Qualcomm tested the NB-IoT technology at the operator's Federal Research and Development Center in St. Petersburg. In testing NB-IoT, a test subscriber terminal based on a Qualcomm MDM9206 multi-mode modem was used as an end device, and Huawei equipment was used on the network side. NB-IoT technology was tested in the 900 MHz band.

"The test allows us to prepare formalized requirements for a large number of manufacturers of IoT modules, software developers, system integrators who plan to develop and implement their devices to work on the MegaFon network in the NB-IoT standard," MegaFon said.

MegaFon is actively preparing the infrastructure for the mass connection of IoT devices. NB-IoT technology will provide mass network connection of various devices that are located in hard-to-reach places and need to work for a long time without changing the battery. In addition, this technology involves the use of a licensed frequency band, which guarantees the reliability, security and continuity of data transmission. The introduction of NB-IoT technology is another step in preparing MegaFon's infrastructure for launching fifth-generation networks, which will increase not only data transfer speeds, but also network capacity, effectively connecting devices different types", - said the head of the federal center for research and development "MegaFon" Nikolai Sidorov.

Vice President of Business Development at Qualcomm Eastern Europe Yulia Klebanova said that NB-IoT and eMTC are optimal technologies for efficiently connecting and connecting IoT devices such as mobile payment devices (POS), pipelines, water, gas and electricity meters, as well as for creating asset management systems and "smart "cities. "We are satisfied with the results of joint testing of NB-IoT technology and various user scenarios with MegaFon. Our commercially available Qualcomm MDM9206 chipset makes it possible to solve all these problems now. This is another important step towards the emergence of new services and services for private and corporate subscribers in Russia," said Yulia Klebanova.

"Tele2 has not yet tested NB-IoT technology. We see great prospects for business development in the field of IoT and will explore it," Tele2 press secretary Olga Galushina told ComNews. The press services of Mobile TeleSystems PJSC and VimpelCom PJSC (Beeline brand) refrained from commenting yesterday.

As ComNews previously reported, MTS and Nokia have already tested a comprehensive IoT solution. On the MTS LTE network in the 1800 MHz band in Moscow, the companies tested the NB-IoT radio interface with the ability to connect broadband and narrowband devices using a new radio chip (see ComNews of November 3, 2016).

"Unfortunately, Russia was not included in the list of those countries where commercial NB-IoT networks have already been deployed or are being deployed - several European countries, South Korea and China," Vitaliy, head of the J`son & Partners Consulting wireless technologies department, told ComNews correspondent Corned beef.

According to him, in an optimistic scenario, the first fragments of NB-IoT networks in large cities of the Russian Federation may appear before the end of 2017 - in the first half of 2018. However, Vitaly Solonin added, launches on a national scale should be expected no earlier than in a year or two .

Andrey Kolesnikov, president of the Association for the Internet of Things (AIV), thinks that Russian telecom operators will launch NB-IoT networks into commercial operation no earlier than autumn 2018. “And it will be fragmented to begin with, following the first mass IoT projects,” he believes.

The GSMA predicts that by 2020, the number of IoT connections over mobile networks and LPWA will exceed 3 billion. resource counters, Wrist Watch and bracelets, pet collars, sensors in parking lots - each of the devices will need access to the network. To make this possible, MegaFon and Huawei are actively cooperating in promoting a new communication standard, NB-IoT (Narrow Band IoT), on the Russian market. This communication technology for the Internet of Things significantly reduces the energy consumption of end devices, provides significantly better coverage and communication penetration, and increases the maximum number of devices connected to the network.

MegaFon also became a member of the GSMA NB-IoT Forum community, the purpose of which is to cooperate in the development of NB-IoT technology around the world. The organization includes the largest operators (China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, etc.), as well as leading manufacturers of technological solutions (Huawei, Intel, Qualcomm).

new standard NB-IoT was developed by the 3GPP consortium with the requirements of operators in mind: IoT services must be transmitted over a transmission technology known as "Low-Power and Wide-Area (LPWA)" and use the existing infrastructure of the operator. In terms of versatility, NB-IoT is the most suitable LPWA solution for enterprises in various industries, with which you can connect utility meters, monitoring sensors, object tracking systems and a host of other devices to the operator's network. One of the features of the technology is the ability to connect up to 100,000 devices to one cell of the base station, which is dozens of times higher than the capabilities of existing mobile communication standards. Using the low-frequency range will provide coverage for hard-to-reach places such as basements, basements, etc. In addition, when working in the new standard, devices consume battery more economically, which allows them to work without recharging for much longer. For example, a water meter with an autonomous battery, when operating in the NB-IoT standard, can last up to 10 years without recharging and receive a signal when installed in the basement.

The market entry of the first NB-IoT-enabled devices is expected in late 2016/early 2017. NB-IoT technology works in LTE networks and will be relevant during the further transition to the fifth generation 5G standards.

MegaFon is one of the key players Russian market Internet of Things, using current technologies, our company has implemented many successful projects in the field of M2M/IoT. And today, in partnership with Huawei, we are pleased to announce the transition to a qualitatively new level, the open NB-IoT standard, which allows you to connect a huge number of devices from various manufacturers to the MegaFon network with high energy efficiency. We are confident that the new technology will make the lives of both our corporate customers and ordinary MegaFon subscribers more mobile, easier and brighter,” noted Alexander Bashmakov, director of infrastructure at MegaFon.

“Huawei, in cooperation with the world's largest operators, has already made a great contribution to the creation of NB-IoT technology around the world. We are pleased that MegaFon is betting on the most advanced technologies such as NB-IoT, bringing the Russian ICT market to the global level. This will allow MegaFon to offer its B2B customers effective services, which will also benefit end users", - added Dmitry Alferov, Vice President of Services and maintenance Huawei in Russia.

Prior to the final adoption of NB-IoT standards, Huawei worked with partners to prepare for application standardization and testing to better understand customer needs, accelerate upgrades, and optimize technical solutions. In the first half of 2016 alone, Huawei completed many joint projects. For example, together with Etisalat, Huawei has tested smart parking services and applications; together with Australian operators (VHA and Optus) and South East Water launched the system for testing intelligent control water supply, and entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Chinese China Telecom and Shenzhen Water Group to implement a similar system.

Within the framework of the Innoprom exhibition, MegaFon and Huawei demonstrated one of the examples of the application of the new NB IoT standard - “smart parking”. Using the smart parking solution will enable commercial parking companies to more effectively control the parking space, optimize the cost of monitoring the occupancy of spaces, and also provide end users with a convenient interface through a mobile application for booking, paying and navigating to a parking space.]]>

MegaFon, Huawei and the Big Three presented a comprehensive solution in the Internet of Things segment for the Russian market, which allows housing and communal services enterprises and management companies to quickly receive information about resource consumption, automatically control costs, instantly determine the balance and get rid of payment gaps. Residents who start using the new technology in their apartments will no longer have to take readings manually, in addition, they will be able to monitor the consumption of electricity, water and gas, as well as compare statistics from different months through a convenient mobile application.

What do company representatives say?

The product has significant advantages over existing alternatives on the market due to the use of the NB-IoT standard, which MegaFon is developing together with Huawei in Russia and plans to put into commercial operation in 2017. Its energy efficiency allows connected devices to operate up to 10 years without battery replacement, its network range ensures uninterrupted data transfer even in rooms with poor mobile signal reception, and the low cost of the radio module ensures the availability of implementation.

The convenience of the solution also lies in its complexity: created jointly with a Russian developer information systems in the housing and utilities sector, by the Big Three company, it solves all issues related to the transition to an intelligent metering system - from the production of meters to the installation of a platform for collecting and analyzing readings through a single window. The solution from MegaFon, Huawei and the Big Three will appear on the market immediately after the launch of the NB-IoT standard and will provide a comprehensive solution to the problem of connecting metering devices to the network for management companies and housing and communal services.

What is NB-IoT?

NB-IoT, aka Narrowband IoT, is a special case of a Low-Power Wide-area Network or an energy-efficient long-range network. This is a wireless technology for transmitting small data over long distances, focused on collecting data from various sensors, counters and sensors. The key drawback of the Low-Power Wide-area Network over the entire ten years of development of this technology has been the significant fragmentation of existing equipment and the lack of standardization.

The new NB-IoT technology, which is used by MegaFon, Huawei and the Big Three, solves the problems of all previous products in the segment of energy-efficient long-range networks and maintains the benefits. Firstly, NB-IoT has been successfully tested in IoT devices, applications and services, and secondly, it has been approved by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project and will be used in the licensed frequency range, and most importantly, supported by major mobile operators. In addition, sensors using NB-IoT technology are very compact and reliable, and most importantly, they are of low interest to vandals and robbers.

As we have already said, NB-IoT provides a wide area of coverage, low power consumption and long term services, the ability to rapidly upgrade an existing network, low cost terminal, high reliability and safety. The cost of an NB-IoT sensor for metering water, gas, electricity and object tracking is about $5, and due to the small amount of transmitted data, up to 50,000 such sensors can be connected per cell.

Is using NB-IoT in apartments expensive?

Even if we imagine that the cost of installing sensors in full will fall on the owner of the apartment, the cost of the apartment equipment itself, according to our estimate, can be approximately 1500-3000 rubles, depending on the wiring of communications. According to experts, the price of one NB-IoT is about five dollars. Taking into account the connection, the transition to the new technology of the Internet of things can cost residents up to 5,000 thousand rubles. It is possible that, in fact, the cost of installing sensors and the equipment itself can be subsidized by the municipality, as well as third parties interested in obtaining big data on resource use.

NB-IoT is just data collection?

First of all, the project of MegaFon, Huawei and the Big Three to improve the accuracy of data collection for companies in the housing and communal services sector and increase their efficiency through data automation and standardization, as well as real-time control capabilities. Secondly, it will provide the convenience of residents who will be able to track the consumption of water, heat, gas and electricity at any time, as well as refuse the monthly need to write off and transfer data from metering devices.

What if you fantasize?

Going further, one can easily imagine the possibility of not only getting information about the consumption, but also increasing the security of the apartment in case of force majeure and significantly reducing costs by monitoring the services provided. For example, users can receive information about a sudden jump in water consumption at a time when no one is in the apartment. This may indicate a leak in the pipes, but with the help of the application, the user could shut off the water supply to the apartment. Atypical power consumption would be an indicator of an electrical appliance not being turned off, which could lead to a fire. In addition, connecting metering devices to the Internet and further adding sensors from the Internet of Things segment to communication systems could allow remote control of water supply, electricity and heat in an apartment. Namely, to start using smart thermostats such as Nest, which are not common in Russia, to control the climate in homes and remotely change the temperature regimes of radiators, underfloor heating and air conditioning systems in different rooms.

Let's get back to reality.

The centralized installation of sensors to control appliances in apartments is a story from a more distant future. At the moment, we are still talking only about equipping metering devices for electricity, water and gas with sensors. However, the very fact of the implementation of the Internet of things in apartments at the level of housing and communal services enterprises and management companies indicates the approach of significant progress and the availability of more and more new technologies in the IoT segment in houses and apartments. In addition, this once again demonstrates how quickly mass projects are being implemented in Russia. the latest technology: development of mobile communication and quality mobile internet, Availability WiFi networks in the Moscow metro and public transport, prevalence of contactless payment in outlets and the development of mobile payment systems such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

The presentation of the first comprehensive IoT solution for housing and communal services took place in the office of the metropolitan branch of MegaFon. It is a joint effort of MegaFon operator, equipment supplier Huawei and developer of the Big Three telemetry data collection and analysis platform. The roles in the project were distributed as follows. MegaFon deployed an NB-IoT network based on Huawei equipment, and the Big Three developed a device that collects data from water and electricity meters and transmits data to a server via the NB-IoT network. The customer of such a solution has access to an Internet interface through which all data from the meters can be obtained. The solution is intended for service, resource and management companies. At the moment, there are no customers, but according to representatives of MegaFon, a pilot zone will be launched already this year in one of the regions, in which it is not disclosed.

Today, there is no single standard for the Internet of Things ecosystem, while IoT solutions themselves are widely used both in housing and communal services and in other industries. By and large, IoT is an organic evolution of m2m solutions, the difference is only in cost and data transfer technology. Traditional m2m services use the existing mobile network to aggregate telemetry data. This is beneficial for launching such solutions, since investments in start-up are minimal. But in the long term, the Internet of Things will require its own data network. There are several standards developing in parallel. The most notable and supported are NB-IoT and LoRa. It is noteworthy that the same companies support these standards for the most part. MegaFon chose NB-IoT technology, but it is unlikely that this happened for any other reason than the support of this particular standard by the operator's main partner in the construction and development of infrastructure, Huawei.

NB-IoT really has every chance to become the real and only networking standard for the Internet of things. But even now, when NB-IoT is being launched in many countries, there are a lot of questions about how quickly vendors are trying to force equipment purchases on operators. For example, one of the advantages of NB-IoT is the low power consumption required to transmit telemetry data. Allegedly, one battery is enough for uninterrupted operation of the device for ten years. Only AAA form factor batteries are used in such devices, not from a good life, of course, they are simply cheaper. But the physical life of an alkaline AAA battery is limited to three, maximum five years. And why then "10 years from one battery"?

Another problem is the telemetry data collection device itself. MegaFon's solution assumes that such a center will be installed in each apartment, it will collect data from electricity and water supply meters. But in the demo solution, all meters were connected to the central meter by wires. It is interesting to see how many residents of urban apartments will agree to laying wires on top of the repairs made. If you equip the meters with a module wireless transmission data, then, firstly, they will become much more expensive and the battery in them will have to be changed much more often, and, secondly, the problem of shielding the signal with walls of bathrooms and pipes will have to be solved. Whatever one may say, it is possible to install the solution in the current version in apartment buildings before settling in. This is money that management companies are hardly eager to spend.

Surprisingly, in Moscow there are already a lot of launched projects for automating the collection of data on the consumption of electricity and water by residents. Some of them use electricity meters with SIM cards, others use more complex solutions. Basically, we are talking about elite development quarters, where such a “smart housing and communal services” is part of a large package additional services available to residents. Representatives of the Big Three, developers of the platform and devices for the MegaFon project, indicate that the owner of the apartment will pay for all the pleasure as a result. In their opinion, the tenants will only be happy that they will be forced to spend money on installing new meters, because then they will stop overpaying for public Utilities. Why are they overpaying now - is not specified. All the difference from the current situation lies in the fact that today the tenants themselves submit meter readings, according to which their utility bills are calculated. And so that the tenants do not deceive, the workers management company check the readings at regular intervals. It is almost impossible for a resident of a new apartment to deceive public utilities, and those who are used to putting bugs and clinging magnets are unlikely to agree to change their “correct” meters to advanced ones. And even more so - for their own money.

The launch of NB-IoT is a big step towards the development of the Internet of things. It remains to launch projects that are really in demand here and now, and not in the distant and naive future. To do this, MegaFon should find more mature partners, and not start-ups with burning eyes. Otherwise, the impression can only be made on those who have heard about the Internet of things and its penetration into the housing and communal services for the first time. You won't have to pull out at a press conference the mayor of Innopolis, a certain representative of the management company and other mishandled Cossacks who ask the right questions from the company's point of view. Moreover, in Moscow there are already real companies interested in such solutions. These are developers who rent out tens of thousands of meters of new housing every month and already know the value of “smart housing and communal services”. If the development vector of the project is directed towards the populist “we are modernizing housing and communal services throughout the country”, then everything will end up approximately the same as almost all recent projects MegaFon.

NarrowBand Internet of Things, NB-IoT is a wireless technology of the LPWAN family for the Internet of things, implemented on the basis of cellular network infrastructure and standardized by the 3GPP consortium release 13: LTE-Advanced Pro.

Manufacturers of equipment for mobile operators participated in the creation of the release: Huawei, Ericsson, Qualcomm and Vodafone. Each of them pursued their own interests and offered technical solutions that were beneficial for themselves.

Due to its wide adoption and apt name, NB-IoT often refers to three different technologies adopted by 3GPP Release 13:

EC-GSM (EC-GSM-IoT)

Extended Coverage – GSM – Internet of Things (EC-GSM-IoT) technology is based on the eGPRS standard. Changes made to eGPRS allow most installed base stations to communicate with EC-GSM-IoT devices without replacing or upgrading hardware. However, it is stated that the operation of EC-GSM-IoT will require a software update of existing equipment.

LTE Cat-M1

LTE Cat-M1 is an addition to the LTE standard with higher energy efficiency parameters. It is stated that LTE Cat-M1 end devices will be able to operate in an LTE network without upgrading base stations.

NB-IoT

The essence of the NarrowBand Internet of Things (NB-IoT) is the use of chips that can work in cellular networks, but have relatively simple logic.

Instead of working out a compromise solution, 3GPP included in the release three competing technologies, the choice of which is at the mercy of chip manufacturers or cellular operators.

Russian operators use equipment that supports three 3GPP release 13 technologies, but equipment from Qualcomm prevails - cellular operators MegaFon and VimpelCom work with it.

In 2016, Megafon announced the development strategy for NB-IoT solutions on its equipment.

NB-IoT technology

The business model of cellular operators operating on NB-IoT technology is to develop the market for IoT end devices and provide commercial data transmission services for IoT solutions.

Thus, the Megafon company offers 3 partnership models for operators and suppliers of IoT devices:

Selling the vertical solution directly to the client.
Selling IoT services to customers jointly with or through a partner.
Selling communication services to a partner without interacting with the client.

NB-IoT plays the role of "transport" - the delivery of data from the device to the BS. The technology was created as an add-on to work on an existing infrastructure.

In Russia, only licensed frequencies in the range of 890-915 MHz and 935-960 MHz with a transmitter power of up to 200 mW can be used for NB-IoT broadcasting.

The use of a dedicated spectrum ensures communication stability and protects the network from interference from “foreign” networks. Billions of dollars spent on the purchase of licensed frequencies are covered by income from the business of cellular operators.

In December 2018, the SCRF plans to allow the "big four" cellular operators to use frequencies in the NB-IoT mode.

In case of a positive decision of the SCRF, operators will be able to use old GSM networks for NB-IoT and save on the purchase of new frequencies. For broadcasting in GSM networks, the modernization of GSM base stations (BS) will probably be required, which will result in the need for additional investments.

The width of the NB-IoT radio channel is equal to the width of the LTE resource block - 180 kHz. This is a relatively high value compared to narrowband LPWAN technologies.

Such a channel allows the use of NB-IoT for applications with speeds from 20,000 to 250,000 bps.
Relatively high speeds in practice, they look redundant for many IoT applications, in particular, for one of the most mass markets - dispatching of metering devices in housing and communal services.

High, relatively narrow-band LPWAN protocols, the speed has a negative impact on other characteristics: communication range, scalability of solutions, penetration.

XNB technology from Strizh

The commercial activity of STRIZH today is based on:

selling ready-made IoT solutions to both small and medium-sized and large industrial clients directly;
sale of ready-made IoT solutions through regional dealers and partners;
complex sale of LPWAN communication devices and services for an integrator implementing their own IoT solutions.

XNB protocol logo

Strizh has developed a complete technology stack for the Internet of things: radio protocol, end devices, base stations and server software.

The STRIZH technology stack is based on a narrow-band, energy-efficient and optimized for machine-to-machine (M2M) data exchange over long distances XNB (Extended Narrow Band) protocol. XNB was originally designed to transmit radio signals in the 868.8 MHz spectrum (licensing free) with a transmission power of up to 25 mW. At the same time, XNB can also operate at licensed sub-GHz frequencies, if any.

Due to the fact that base stations and STRIZH end devices "communicate" in an unlicensed range, where hundreds of devices from other networks go on the air, protection against interference and collisions - signal overlays is necessary.

To eliminate them, Strizh uses an ultra-narrowband signal and special transmission and reception algorithms:

scheduling of communication sessions: the algorithm of reception and transmission, wired in the device itself and the base station;
the use of noise-immune coding of the radio signal;
mathematical methods and CRC checks that can significantly increase the probability of correct delivery.

The signal transmitted by the device in the 100 Hz band, and high energy per bit of transmitted information, coupled with high rates receiver sensitivity, provide an excellent link budget of 174 dBm and high noise immunity.

The speed of data exchange in the STRIZH network is from 100 to 9600 bps. Since the XNB protocol was originally developed for collecting and transmitting a small amount of data from metering devices and sensors, the specified speed is more than enough to achieve the intended tasks. Large-scale projects implemented by STRIZH require high autonomy of end devices, long range of receiving and transmitting, scalability and relatively low cost of implementation.

base stations

NB-IoT

Key characteristics of base stations: sensitivity, communication range and capacity.

The estimated communication range of the NB-IoT station is up to 15 kilometers in countryside. However, judging by the indicator of the communication budget - 164 dB and the low sensitivity of the receiver: -127 dBm, it is unlikely that the base station will be able to "hear" "smart" devices in urban conditions at a distance further than 2-3 kilometers.

In cities, according to operators, the limiting factor will not be the range, but the capacity of the network (the ability to receive and process signals from subscriber devices). To level it, it is supposed to bring the density of the network in the city to 1 base station per square kilometer, which account for only a few thousand sensors (up to 4000 according to the calculations of specialists).

This task will be solved either through the use of the GSM network (in the case of a positive decision of the SCRF), or by the cost of new BSs with NB-IoT support.

It is likely that operators will face the task of upgrading some of the equipment: GSM base stations released earlier than 2015 do not support the NB-IoT standard and need a hardware “upgrade”. GSM equipment manufactured after 2015 is updated by software.

Infrastructure upgrades for NB-IoT networks will depend heavily on the commercial prospects of specific territories.

The short communication range will be a limiting factor in the penetration of coverage of traditional cellular networks in sparsely populated areas: villages, highways, fields.

Given the factors described above, the prospects for NB-IoT expansion outside major cities appear to be limited.

XNB from Strizh

Due to the fact that the STRIZH base station is capable of simultaneously processing up to 5,000 channels in the unlicensed 500 kHz range, its capacity is up to 1,000,000 devices per day. The confirmed range of the BS is up to 10 kilometers in urban areas and up to 50 kilometers in open areas.

The STRIZH base station is distinguished by a high communication channel budget of 174 dBm. A 10 dB advantage over the NB-IoT budget gives you a threefold increase in communication distance or an additional 2 concrete walls in the house.

The improvements made to the XNB protocol do not affect the hardware of the stations and are made at the software level. The software is updated centrally from the server and takes no more than a minute.

Conclusion

Due to the lower sensitivity, as well as the “fixed”, stationary location of cell towers, the NB-IoT station may not “hear” all signals, which causes “blind zones” of coverage, especially in hard-to-reach places. "Smart" meters cannot be placed in a basement or an iron cabinet, which is critical for organizing large-scale resource metering solutions in housing and communal services.

In practice, this means that the cellular operator's BS will not accept readings from 20 out of 100 metering devices installed on the first floors of the house. The effectiveness and expediency of such a solution from the user's point of view is reduced to zero. At the same time, the telecom operator will not install an additional expensive NB-IoT station to eliminate a relatively small "white spot" on the coverage map.

Such an approach will not pay back the costs of purchasing a new BS, the procedure for coordinating equipment and installation.

Network Deployment Cost for IoT

In Russia, since 2014, frequencies for the provision of mobile communication services have been distributed at auctions.

Base stations "STRIZH" do not require licensing and approvals for installation. Whether it's a business with 120 temperature sensors in a remote area or a developer with 5,000 smart meters

The project of federal coverage with the STRIZH telematics network for the Internet of things in transport can be implemented using mobile base stations built into vehicles, and deployment of a network of stationary base stations - their low cost allows you to do this.

The project of federal coverage with the STRIZH telematics network for the Internet of Things in transport can be implemented using mobile BS built into vehicles and deploying a network of stationary base stations - their low cost allows this to be done.

The cost of maintaining the base station "Strizh" is about 400 rubles per month: payment for Internet traffic and 11 kilowatt-hours of electricity - this is how much one fluorescent light bulb consumes.

Conclusion

The high cost of equipment, its maintenance, and the prohibitive cost of radio frequency licensing for small and medium-sized businesses will continue to hinder the development of NB-IoT technology.

Deployment of the network in undeveloped territory by operators: in rural areas, roads will entail costs for infrastructure, communications and various approvals (capital construction of cell towers). Remote areas obviously cannot be covered by NB-IoT network operators for at least the next 7 years. Only large cellular operators will be able to deploy cellular networks supporting NB-IoT technology, and where it can be economically justified: in large cities with reliable coverage and a developed new cellular network infrastructure.

A dedicated entrepreneur or organization can deploy an IoT network based on STRIZH technology: a company managing a residential area, farming or resource provider.

The low cost, small dimensions and low maintenance requirements of the STRIZH base stations allow large-scale deployment of IoT networks in large areas, including along automobile and railways for transport applications. Such a scenario is envisaged by the Roadmap of the Digital Economy of Russia program, as well as a number of industrial programs related to improving the efficiency of infrastructure management and transport security.

End Devices

Today in Russia, solutions based on NB-IoT technology are being offered by Megafon and Teleofis.

As of December 1, 2017 in open sale There are no NB-IoT devices from Megafon. The Teleofis website does not present ready-made smart devices, but data collection and transmission devices (DCD) with NB-IoT support. The sensor or meter must be connected to the USPD by wire through external interfaces.

Water meters SVK 15-3-2 with radio modem "Strizh"

Operating experience proves that wired connections complicate the installation process and reduce the reliability of the solution: the reed switch of a cheap meter will fail, the contact will come off, the electrician will confuse it or the residents will deliberately cut it off.

Teleofis plans to sell USPD in 2018. Before implementation, it is necessary to check whether the cellular operator at the client's site supports NB-IoT technology.

Strizh sells devices ready for use: out of the box. Meters and sensors with built-in XNB radio modules do not differ in installation and commissioning from standard traditional devices without communication.

It is not required to connect the USPD and call the adjusting specialists - the installation of a "smart" meter or "Strizh" sensor is a matter of 3-5 minutes.

Conclusion

In order to become truly mainstream, the solution must be as simple, ready-made and wireless as possible.
So far, the NB-IoT devices available on the market are made in the form of “semi-finished” modems and do not seem to be reliable solutions.
Strizh supplies ready-made wireless devices that work in any XNB network right out of the box.
To install STRIZH metering devices, a full-time plumber or electrician of the managing organization is enough.

end device cost

USPD RTU102m-NB1 from Teleofis

The price of the NB-IoT radio module (directly the chip plus the strapping) starts at 900 rubles, on large wholesale lots, the price can probably be reduced.

The price of USPD RTU102m-NB1 with NB-IoT support is 4,900 rubles. To this figure it is necessary to add the costs of integration with the meter and the cost of the actual water meter with a pulse output. The total cost of the solution is about 6,000 rubles for 1 water metering unit.

The retail price of a water meter with a Strizh XNB radio modem is 2,030 rubles. The sale of the first STRIZH solutions for remote metering of utility resources began in 2014. After 3 years, almost 200,000 devices were sold and installed.

Conclusion

The “smart” automation market is sensitive to the cost and rise in price of end devices: an increase in the cost of a sensor, even by 50 rubles, produced in a million series, will entail corresponding costs. In particular, this is critical for decisions related to housing and communal services.

By the end of 2017, there are no ready-made devices with NB-IoT support on sale. USPD roads due to the high cost of "iron" and the lack of well-functioning large-scale production.
The emergence of NB-IoT devices comparable in price to devices from other manufacturers is expected no earlier than 2019-2020.

Mass production of chips on the basis of which the STRIZH radio module was created had a positive effect on the cost: they are 3-4 times cheaper than chips for NB-IoT.

The difference in the cost of components is reflected in the cost of finished devices. The low price of the STRIZH radio module ensures the low cost of IoT solutions, which include tens of thousands of autonomous devices.

The ideal use case for STRIZH is stationary and mobile applications in territories or facilities that require the deployment of low-speed telematic networks with high requirements for signal penetration and autonomy of end devices.

The development of its own LPWAN-chip "Strizh", which combines a transceiver and a microcontroller, is underway. Creating your own chip will simplify and make the production of STRIZH devices as cheap as possible.

autonomy

The range of signal transmission rates in NB-IoT networks varies from 20,000 to 250,000 bps. The radio signal power of NB-IoT devices is 23 dBm or 200 mW. At the same time, manufacturers claim a 10-year autonomy of devices. According to experts, to ensure a 10-year life of the device, taking into account temperature fluctuations, a battery with a capacity of 7 to 15 Wh will be required.

Strizh's energy-efficient XNB protocol sends messages at 100 bits per second in a 100 Hz bandwidth. Low speed and narrowband signal provide a good communication budget.

STRIZH devices transmit a radio signal with a power of up to 25 mW. This is 8 times lower than the power emitted by the NB-IoT radio modem.

In this case, the average power consumption indicators are: up to 10 μA - in the "sleep" mode and up to 50 mA - in the transmission mode (estimated by the upper bar).

Conclusion

When comparing NB-IoT and XNB technologies in terms of end device autonomy, the latter looks much more preferable.

A high transfer rate reduces the battery life of end devices - the higher the transfer rate, the more power the NB-IoT radio consumes.

As of December 1, 2017, less than 11 months have passed since the start of testing NB-IoT solutions, and it is too early to talk about the actual battery life in NB-IoT devices.

As of December 1, 2017, the confirmed autonomous operation period of STRIZH XNB counters is 4 years. The first "smart" devices have already worked for so long in the residential areas of Moscow and Perm.

The XNB protocol is optimal for applied tasks removal of telemetry, requiring a long battery life. For example, resource meters or other sensors installed in hard-to-reach places: basements, risers of apartment buildings and underground parking lots.

Development of technologies in Russia

Prototypes of NB-IoT devices from Megafon

Network equipment that supports NB-IoT is manufactured outside of Russia by Qualcomm and a number of other major foreign vendors.

So, Megafon cellular networks: base stations, software and the BS control system are at least half built on the equipment of a Chinese vendor.

The STRIZH technology, including hardware and software, is completely domestic: base stations are assembled in Moscow, end devices are manufactured at our own facilities, as well as at the factories of Russian partners.

The company's servers are located in Russia. Work is underway to introduce encryption into the system in accordance with GOST.

Since 2014, STRIZH has been creating and applying Russian Information Technology and ensures their competitiveness at the international level.

Solutions for the Internet of Things developed and implemented by STRIZH fully comply with the main provisions of the Development Strategy information society v Russian Federation for 2017-2030”, approved by the President.

Conclusion

Building a network infrastructure on foreign hardware and software is unsafe for both technical and political reasons. And since operators tend to include part of the cost of equipment in its subsequent maintenance, cellular IoT networks can rise in price significantly in the next 3 years.

STRIZH consistently implements the Strategy program, replacing imported equipment, software and electronic components with Russian counterparts that are not inferior, but in many ways superior to foreign developments.

Network subscription fee

In cellular networks, the subscription fee is regulated by the operator. In Russia, there are already precedents when tariffs increased with the growth of traffic. For housing and communal services, a subscription fee of 50 rubles per 1 device is a significant additional cost item that affects the payback.

The STRIZH network is deployed at low-cost base stations. The client becomes the "master" of its own network. The cost of the STRIZH solution is optimized due to the unlicensed broadcasting range and inexpensive equipment.

As part of the current commercial policy focused on the housing and communal services sector, subscription fees are not charged from small and medium-sized customers.

When building a network federal level, the business model is likely to be a subscription fee or equivalent.

Conclusion

The subscription fee for M2M traffic and the likelihood of its increase constrain big business and organizations that cannot depend on cellular operators: state-owned companies, the defense sector, developers with thousands of utility meters.

The ability to deploy your own networks without a monthly fee will allow you to large companies, and small organizations implement projects on the Strizh. If a subscription fee is introduced during the deployment of the STRIZH federal network, its size will be an order of magnitude lower compared to the tariffs of mobile operators.

Summary

As of December 1, 2017, 4 pilot NB-IoT networks are known in Russia. All of them are deployed by the second largest Russian mobile operator, Megafon, and all of them are in test mode.

The first commercial implementations should be expected only by the second half of 2018. And preparation for production and certification of ready-made "smart" devices will most likely shift the implementation time to 2019-2020.

Before the full launch of NB-IoT in some regions, it will take another 2-3 years. The deployment of networks will begin with the most cost-effective solutions with the highest density of subscribers - large cities.

Benefits and features of NB-IoT

Advantages

Availability of infrastructure in large cities: the user does not "bother" on the deployment of stations.
High bit rates: Can be used for applications with traffic levels between 20,000 and 250,000 bps.
Low signal transmission delay (latency) up to 1 sec from the moment of operation to notification in personal account. On busy networks, delays can reach 3 seconds.

The ideal use case for NB-IoT is stationary and mobile applications in urban areas with high requirements for bandwidth channel and relatively tolerant of penetration and autonomy.

Peculiarities

subscription fee for traffic;
risk of unilateral change in the terms of cooperation: increase in the subscription fee;
complete dependence on the operator and its infrastructure;
lack of ready-made end devices: the modem-meter connection is unreliable;
inability to deploy a private network;
the presence of SIM-cards in volumes from 100 devices causes confusion on the client side;
relatively low autonomy: you will have to change the battery or provide constant power;
expensive infrastructure and licenses for frequencies when deploying a new network in a sparsely populated area, for which the user pays in the form of a subscription fee;
the cost of modems and metering points is above the industry average;
lower sensitivity index and, as a result, worse signal penetration;
the presence of shadow spots in the coating;
long TTM (time to market) solutions: the announced solutions will have to wait from 1 year or more;
foreign technology from foreign vendors (information security).

These features lead to the fact that NB-IoT will certainly receive some use in cities with a population of more than 100-300,000 people. In cities with a smaller population, at the request of large customers, it is possible to build an NB-IoT network in 6-9 months. Covering roads and railways will probably not be a priority.

The most attractive applications for NB-IoT:

retail and banks: vending machines, cash registers, ATMs;
medicine: wearable devices, remote monitoring;
security systems: signaling, equipment control;
consumer electronics.

Advantages and features of the STRIZH technology

Advantages

Cheap base stations: from 86,650 rubles, which are deployed anywhere in 2 hours.
Low cost of network ownership (power supply, transit channel) - from 400 rubles. per station per month
Wide territorial coverage: up to 10 km in the city, 40 km. in open area.
White spots are easily "closed" by inexpensive base mini-stations.
High device density: up to 1,000,000 devices per station per day.
Efficient coverage of sparsely populated areas, roads and railways with mobile or stationary BS.
High penetrating power makes it possible to interrogate devices from basements, risers, cabinets, which is critical for resource accounting in housing and communal services.
High autonomy of devices: up to 10 years from the built-in battery.
Ability to deploy private and closed networks without a subscription.
It does not require licensing, it is freely used anywhere in the Russian Federation.
The absence of license costs is not passed on to the subscriber
Ready-made integrated plug-and-play devices and complete solutions.
The cost of chips is lower - the cost of devices is lower.
Vertical LPWAN communication platform: from protocol to user application.
Quick time to market: 3 weeks for a prototype, 2 months for a finished product.
100% domestic technology: import lead, safety, export potential.

The ideal scenario for using STRIZH is the rapid and inexpensive deployment of private or public networks with a high density of stationary or mobile devices in any territory, regardless of the commercial interests of traditional cellular operators.

Peculiarities

Baud rate: 100/1000/9600 bps, suitable for applications with low communication bandwidth requirements: telemetry of meters and sensors.
Higher latency: up to 3-5 seconds from the moment of triggering to displaying data in your personal account.
The unlicensed range - higher probability of interference - is effectively leveled due to the narrow-band approach and the high link budget of 174 dBm.

"STRIZH" is ideal for use in the following industries:

Housing and communal services and electric power industry: dispatching and resource accounting.
Transport telematics: cargo monitoring, waste disposal, "digital railway".
Control of buildings and objects: smoke, access, temperature, leakage sensors.
Agricultural sector: monitoring of vast areas of agricultural fields, warehouses, greenhouses.
The need to deploy a network where there is no coverage is not a barrier for STRIZH, since the infrastructure is available even for a small customer.

In this brochure you will learn:

what is NB-IoT;
detailed comparison of XNB and NB-IoT;
differences in equipment levels: base stations, end devices;
how much does it cost to deploy a network on XNB and NB-IoT;
prospects for the development of technologies in Russia.

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Specifications	XNB from Strizh	NB-IoT from 3GPP
Origin of technology	Russian	foreign
Functionality	It is possible to build private / local and public networks	Cellular networks only
frequency range	868.8 MHz (licensing free) 500 kHz bandwidth. (Implementation at other sub-GHz frequencies is possible)	Licensed: uplink 890-915 MHz, downlink 935-960 MHz
Channel bandwidth	100 Hz	180 kHz
Link budget	174 dBm	164 dB
Speed range	100 / 1000 / 9600 bps	20,000 bps - 250,000 bps (link rate, information may be lower)
Receiver sensitivity	High, -150 dBm (for 100 bps)	Low - 127 dBm (for 20,000 bps)
Communication range in the city	Up to 10 km or more

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