Since the core standards were frozen last June, NB-IoT has become the hottest topic in the telecommunications industry, providing a network solution for the Internet of Things (IoT) era characterized by wide coverage, massive connectivity, low power consumption, and low cost. With the maturation of the NB-IoT ecosystem, large-scale commercial deployment has also been put on the agenda.
In promoting the NB-IoT industry, China Telecom is undoubtedly at the forefront. After establishing a nationwide network and releasing pricing policies, the Shenzhen Telecom company announced the first batch of 6,000 NB-IoT smart gas meters. According to the plan, the installation and debugging of these 6,000 smart gas meters will begin in early September, with delivery to residents in October. At that time, China Telecom will become the first operator in China to launch commercial NB-IoT services.
Shenzhen’s 6,000 NB-IoT Gas Meters Commercial Launch
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued the first IoT number segments: China Mobile obtained the 148(0-9) segment (dedicated for IoT services) and the 1440(0-9) segment (IoT network number); China Telecom received the 1410(0-9) segment (IoT network number); and China Unicom obtained the 146(0-9) segment (dedicated for IoT services).
Currently, the three major operators have gradually begun large-scale construction or commercial use of IoT networks. The acquisition of IoT number segments by these three operators also signifies the official commencement of IoT commercialization.
China Telecom has taken the lead by launching NB-IoT commercial services. On August 23, Shenzhen Telecom announced that the first batch of 6,000 NB-IoT smart gas meters will be deployed in the gas pipeline upgrade in Shangbu Village, Futian District. According to the plan, the installation and debugging of these 6,000 smart gas meters will begin in early September, with delivery to residents in October.
It is reported that the Shenzhen “Smart Gas” project has been underway since November 2016, completing a series of tasks from laboratory testing and technical standard formulation to site deployment and field testing, officially entering the commercial implementation phase. This is the first official launch of an NB-IoT network since the MIIT allocated IoT number segments in early August, indicating that the overall network and mid-to-high-end interconnectivity have reached commercial requirements.
Regarding the pricing standards, on July 4, China Telecom released the world’s first NB-IoT tariff plan, which charges based on the number of connections. At the beginning of NB-IoT commercialization, the charging model is based on connections rather than the traditional mobile communication model based on data traffic. Therefore, it is predicted that the pricing for the 6,000 NB-IoT smart gas meters in Shenzhen will also follow this standard.
Pioneering NB-IoT Commercial Services
From an industrial layout perspective, Shenzhen Telecom has pioneered NB-IoT commercial services. In the future, there will be increasingly diverse forms of NB-IoT smart terminal commercial services. On the other hand, the commercial value generated cannot be underestimated. According to Huatai Communication’s predictions, in cases such as smart water meters and gas meters, each smart meter generates about 70KB of data per month. According to the current NB-IoT design specifications, each data packet is about 0.1KB, and each smart meter generates 12 data packets per communication, including communication records, collection records, usage records, alarm logs, event notifications, business-end meter reading records, and receivable records. With two communications per day, each month can generate approximately 0.1*12*2*30=72KB of data.
According to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2011, there were 230 million urban households and 160 million rural households in China. Additionally, according to the Ministry of Health’s statistics, the urban water supply coverage rate is 100%, while the rural coverage rate is 72.1%. Based on the principle of “one meter per household,” the domestic household water meter ownership is no less than 345 million. Furthermore, according to the National Development and Reform Commission, the urban household penetration rate for natural gas is around 40%, with approximately 100 million natural gas meters in use.
If all water meters and gas meters were replaced with NB-IoT, and each smart meter has a lifespan of 10 years, the market for monetizing water meter data would be = 26*0.072*12*10*3.45=77.5 billion yuan; the market for gas meters would be = 26*0.072*12*10*1=22.5 billion yuan.
Industry insiders point out that as the number of NB-IoT connected devices increases, it will generate significant economic value for operators. Currently, only China Telecom offers an NB-IoT tariff plan, but it is believed that the other two operators will soon launch corresponding NB-IoT plans, likely adopting a pricing model similar to that of China Telecom, based on the number of connections and tiered pricing.
China Telecom Leading the Way in NB-IoT Development
Recently, the MIIT issued a document requiring the acceleration of NB-IoT deployment in China, aiming to establish 400,000 base stations by the end of this year and 1.5 million by 2020. This is the first time the MIIT has explicitly outlined the deployment progress of IoT, promoting the accelerated development of the IoT industry chain represented by NB-IoT. With the support of policy, domestic operators are also speeding up their expansion in the NB-IoT and overall IoT market.
However, looking globally, whether in terms of industrial chain layout or commercial pilot projects, China Telecom is leading the way in the NB-IoT field. First, it upgraded 310,000 base stations across the network, establishing the world’s most extensive NB-IoT network, and then released the world’s first NB-IoT tariff plan. Currently, the NB-IoT commercial networks of China Telecom in various provinces and cities are developing rapidly, with most of the first batch of large-scale outdoor trials already completed. Now, the 6,000 NB-IoT gas meters in Shenzhen have also been commercially launched.
Additionally, in July of this year, China Telecom officially released the world’s first NB-IoT tariff plan, which charges a connection service fee, reflecting the value of connections. Furthermore, China Telecom announced a 300 million yuan subsidy directed towards IoT, with 200 million yuan allocated for terminal modules and 100 million yuan for IoT projects.
China Telecom’s multiple initiatives have effectively promoted the development and improvement of the international IoT industry chain, providing commercial experience for other global operators deploying the next generation of IoT (NB-IoT). At the same time, China Telecom is actively forming an IoT development alliance with upstream and downstream players in the industry chain to accelerate the arrival of the intelligent era of interconnected devices.
It is reported that China Telecom’s next-generation IoT has three major advantages: first, the widest coverage, deploying services based on a fully covered 4G network; second, the largest scale, with simultaneous upgrades of all network base stations; and third, the best quality, utilizing the 800MHz low-frequency band, which has stronger signal penetration and better coverage capabilities, resulting in more stable network quality.
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