Ericsson has been selected to build an end-to-end narrow band IoT (NB-IoT) system for Chunghwa Telecom, the leading telecommunications provider in Taiwan.
Chunghwa will use the system to test a range of IoT devices and applications in its laboratory, as the two companies work together to identify 5G applications for various industries.
The NB-IoT solution developed for Chunghwa Telecom will include a range of Ericsson products, including the Ericsson Radio System and the Massive IoT radio access network (RAN) software, created by Ericsson to address the needs for low-cost, extended coverage, and extended battery life required for the emerging IoT low power wide area (LPWA) market.
The new NB-IoT system will also incorporate virtual Evolved Packet Core, deployed as a dedicated IoT packet core, allowing Chunghwa to simulate massive machine communications and analysis, and to accelerate the company’s deployment of new services in the realm of IoT.
Ericsson will also include virtual Subscriber Data Management (vSDM), and the AppIoT platform as a Smart Device and Application service.
In the press release announcing the development of the new system, Chen Shyang-Yih, Executive Vice President of Chunghwa Telecom and President of Telecommunication Laboratories, pointed to the history of partnership between the two companies as a formula for success in the NB-IoT endeavor.
“Ericsson has long been our leading network provider and has demonstrated the strong device lifecycle management and integration capabilities that are required for a system of this type,” he said. “NB-IoT technology is one of our primary focuses in 2017, and we are keen to explore more opportunities based on the new technology.”
In February, Ericsson and Chunghwa Telecom signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate adoption of 5G in Taiwan. The two parties agreed to work together to identify opportunities for the digital transformation of different industries to the 5G standard, specifically including transportation and utilities. The two parties also agreed to work with academic institutions, local government and industries to create a strategy to evolve the network in the country.
NB-IoT is a Mobile IoT technology standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). As an LPWAN standard, it enables improvements in power consumption and spectrum efficiency for applications in the Internet of Things.
