U‑blox and Huawei conduct laboratory and field testing of NB-iot in lock-meter and tracking applications in Brazil

     U-blox, a global leader in wireless and positioning modules and chips, announced that it has started laboratory and field testing on a new narrowband IoT(NB-IoT or Cat NB1) network in Brazil with key players in the IoT ecosystem, Huawei, Vivo, CAS Tecnologia and PinMyPet. The first test has been conducted since the first quarter of 2017 and will initially focus on the scale and tracking application.

     These tests show that u‑blox is focused on the long awaited low power Wide area (LPWA) connectivity technology and can be supplied in the form of NB1 technology that meets the 3GPP's completed standards in June 2016. NB1 has several advantages over other cellular radio technologies, including low device complexity, ultra-low power operation, and the ability to support over 50,000 device connections from a single base station. Because it uses a licensed spectrum network, it can provide higher security and high resilience from interference. As a result, NB1 is ideal for IoT and M2M applications that require ultra-low power consumption and better coverage in shaded areas.

     Eduardo Takeshi, senior Manager of IoT at Vivo, said: "We are excited to partner with u‑blox to help our mutual customers transition to the new low-power, low-cost, and excellent coverage narrowband IoT technology." "We chose u-blox because it offers excellent product quality and technical service," said Marcos Buson, Director of PinMyPet. "The SARA-N2 NB1 module provides reliable, low-power, optimized LTE cellular connectivity, which is exactly what our pet tracking device needs."

     Welson Regis Jacometti, CEO of CAS Tecnologia, the technology leader of the Wisdom Scale in Latin America, said: "The low power consumption of u‑blox SARA‑N2 and the NB-IoT network, which already has better coverage in Brazil, will provide us with excellent benefits for our solution."

     Ricardo Adulis of SmartCore, u-blox's representative company in Brazil, said: "As the number of IoT devices grows, it is relatively difficult to continue using 2G networks. NB-IoT is a natural evolution for wireless carriers, hardware manufacturers and end customers. Built into the test facility is the u-blox SARA N2 NB-IoT module, the world's first cellular NB-iot module to comply with 3GPP Version 13 Narrowband IoT(LTE Cat NB1) standard. It is designed for applications such as smart buildings and cities, utility meters, appliances, asset tracking, and agricultural and environmental monitoring, and can operate on a single battery for more than 10 years. It measures 16 mm x 26 mm in LGA packaging and is designed with u‑blox nested architecture to easily upgrade from u‑blox GSM, HSPA or CDMA modules to ensure future applicability between different technologies and seamless mechanical scalability."

     Suresh Ram, General Manager of u-blox USA, said: "u‑blox's cellular modules enable easy migration between 2G, 3G and 4G, and support the full communication protocol with minimal power consumption. u-blox is working with our partners and customers to deliver products with our modules built in to meet the needs of applications that require long-term use and function in poor signal conditions."