NB-IOT

(Narrowband-Internet of Thing)
Contents

 What is NB(Narrowband)
 What is IoT
 LPWAN
 What is NB-IOT
 LTE NB-IOT Protocol Stack
 NB-IOT Architecture
 Modes of Operation in NB-IoT
 Application of NB-IOT
 Advantages of NB-IOT
What is Narrowband(NB)?
NB(Narrowband) refers to a communication in which
channel bandwidth lies within the coherent band of the
frequency channel. Bandwidth is narrow in comparison
to Broadband.
Advantages:
 Long Range
 Low Power
 Low Bandwidth
 High Interference Resistance
Disadvantages
 High performing filters to pass desired signal
without attenuation and attenuate all other
undesired noise.
 Low data
 IOT(Internet of Things)?

Internet of Things is a system of connected computing devices, machine, sensor, animals, people, objects with
unique Id that have the ability to transfer, compute, Analyse data over network without requiring human to
human or human to computer interaction.
 LPWAN(Low Power Wide Area Network)

LPWAN is a type of wide area network which connects devices over large areas and allows long range communication at
lower bit rate, low cost, and greater power efficiency (low power). LPWAN supports a large number of devices over wide area
in comparison to cellular services. Examples of LPWAN are NB-IOT, LORA, Sigfox etc.
What is NB-IOT(Narrowband-Internet of things)?

 NB-IOT is an internationally acclaimed low power wide area network(LPWAN) base wireless
communication standard developed by 3GPP for devices that require low bandwidth and small amount of
data transfer thus improving battery life, penetration power and device density and enabling low complexity
and cost.
 The NB-IoT communication standard is aimed at enabling IoT devices to operate via carrier networks, either
within an existing Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication carrier wave, in an unused "guard
band" between LTE channels or independently.
How does NB-IoT work?
 NB-IoT is a data transmission standard designed to enable devices to operate in mobile carrier networks.
NB-IoT technology uses low bandwidth signals to communicate within existing GSM and LTE technologies.
 Specially designed devices and sensors are the basic components in NB-IoT systems. These
devices collect information from their surroundings and transmit it to NB-IoT base stations or
transmission nodes. Individual base stations are connected to an IoT gateway and IoT cloud
application servers for centralized monitoring and data analysis.
 NB-IoT employs a new physical layer with signals and channels to meet the requirements of
extended coverage in rural areas and deep indoors, while enabling very low device complexity.
The underlying technology is much less complex than that of GSM/GPRS modules.
 Supported by all major mobile equipment, chipset and module manufacturers, NB-IoT can exist
along with 2G, 3G and 4G mobile networks.
5G NB-IoT devices are designed with the following requirements and goals:
 Massive Number of Low-Throughput Devices: Support at least 52,547 connected
devices within a cell site sector.
 Low Power Consumption: Enable IoT devices to draw low current (in the range of
nanoamp) to enable a single battery charge for multiple number of years (in the range of 10
years).
 Longer Battery Lifetime: The target is to provide battery life of 10 years with battery
capacity of 5 WH.
 Improved Indoor and Outdoor Coverage: The target is to achieve an extended coverage
of 20 dB compared to legacy GPRS devices. Data rate of at least 160 bps should be
supported for both the uplink and downlink.
 Low Complexity: The goal is to provide ultra-low complexity devices to support IoT
applications that results in a cheaper cost.
 Low Latency: A latency of 10 s or less is the target for 99% of the devices.
 Low Cost: A target cost of $5 USD per device.
NB-IoT devices are connected to cellular infrastructure and network. Cellular networks,
supporting NB-IoT devices, are designed with the following requirements and goals:
 Re-use existing power saving procedures in core network for increasing UE battery
lifetime.
 Support sharing the core network between multiple mobile operators
 Control the UE access for each PLMN. That is, support access class barring per a PLMN
 Support for Short Message Service (SMS).
 Support IP header compression for IP-based services.
 Support cell selection and (Re)selection procedures in both IDLE and CONNECTED
modes.
 Support multicast traffic.
 LTE NB-IOT Protocol Stack
 NB-IoT protocol stack has been categorized into user plane and control plane. In User-plane LTE-NB
protocol stack consists of physical layer (PHY), MAC layer, RLC layer and PDCP layer.
 In Control-plane LTE-NB protocol stack consists of PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC and NAS layers.

OSI data plane protocol stack.

Physical layer:It enables exchange of data and control information between eNB(eNode) and
UE(User Equipment). It also enables transport of data to and from higher layers.
 The functions performed by PHY include error detection, antenna processing,
synchronization etc.
 It consists of physical signals and physical channels. Physical signals are used for system
synchronization, cell identification and channel estimation. Physical channels are used for
transporting control, scheduling and user payload processing from higher layers etc.
MAC layer: MAC layer takes care of cell access related messages between UE and network.
This random access procedure helps in establishing RRC connection. Moreover MAC layer
performs following functions.
 Mapping of logical channels on to transport channels.
 Multiplexing of MAC SDUs (Service data unit) from one or different logical channels onto
transport blocks to be delivered to physical layer on UE side.
 Error correction through HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest) retransmission.
 Priority handling between UEs by means of dynamic scheduling.
 Logical Channel prioritization.
 Transport format selection and TB(Transport block) size selection.
RLC layer ( Radio Link Control): Following are the functions performed by RLC layer.
 Transfer of upper layer PDUs(Protocol data unit).
 Error correction through ARQ(Automatic Repeat Request) (only for AM(Acknowledgement Mode)
data transfer).
 Concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs (UM and AM).
 Re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs (AM)
 Reordering of RLC data PDUs (UM and AM)
 Duplicate detection (UM and AM)
 RLC SDU discard (UM and AM)
 Protocol error detection and recovery
 There are three modes supported by RLC viz. transparent mode (suitable for carrying voice),
unacknowledged mode (suitable for carrying streaming traffic), and acknowledged mode (suitable
for carrying TCP traffic).
PDCP layer: PDCP stands for Packet Data Convergence Protocol. PDCP layer performs following
operation in the downlink and uplink. In downlink direction, it adds PDCP header to incoming data
and forward it to RLC layer. In uplink direction, it removes PDCP header from incoming packet and
forwards it to the IP layer. Following are the functions performed by PDCP layer.
 Transfer of data (C-plane, U-plane) between RLC and higher U-plane interface.
 Maintenance of PDCP SN, Transfer of SN status for use upon handover etc.
 ROHC (Robust Header Compression).
 In sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs at re-establishement of lower layer.
 Elimination of duplicate lower layer SDUs at re-establishement of lower layer for RLC AM.
 Ciphering and deciphering of C-plane and U-Plane data.
 Integrity protection and integrity verification of C-plabe data.
 Timer based discard.
 Duplicate discard
 For split and LWA bearers, routing and reordering
 -Maximum size of PDCP SDU
and PDCP control PDU is 1600
bytes
 -PDCP status report receive
operation is not application in NB-
IoT.
 -In LTE, PDU carrying data from
DRBs are mapped on RLC UM,
but in case of NB-IoT DRBs are
mapped on RLC AM.
 -NB-IoT uses only 7 bit PDCP SN
for DRB.
RRC layer: RRC layer specifications are slightly different compare to LTE. It is defined in TS 36.331
document.
 UE must perform transition to "RRC connected mode" before transferring any application layer data
or completing any signaling procedures.
 RRC connection establishment is 3-way handshake process between UE and eNB. It is used to
make transition of UE from "RRC IDLE" to "RRC Connected mode". The messages exchanged
between UE and eNB required to complete RRC Connection Establishment Procedure are RRC
Connection Request (UE ->eNB), RRC connection Setup (eNB->UE) and RRC setup complete (UE
->eNB).
 RRC connection establishment procedure is always initiated by UE but it can be triggered by either
UE or network. RRC Connection Release is always triggered by eNB.
 The initial NAS message is transferred as part of RRC connection establishment procedure to reduce
establishment delay.
NB-IOT Architecture

 NB-IOT operates in the licensed cellular spectrum.

 Modulation: Quadrature Phase shift keying(QPSK).
 Frequency division multiple Access (FDMA) in the uplink, orthogonal FDMA(QFDMA) in the downlink.
 Antenna: Antenna for specific band or multi band antenna.
 NB-IOT Modem( or Module): NBIOT chipset is built into a form of module which can be easily connected
with application.
 Host: Host is the microprocessor or microcontroller which host application and communicates with module
and peripheral devices like sensors.
 Cellular Network: It consists of base station, NB-IOT core network, servers etc. and process all data from
node to application and application to node.
 Application: End Application where the node is controlled and incoming data is monitored.
 LTE has evolved as an enhancement to its predecessor system known as UMTSTM. Enhanced UMTSTM
Terrestrial Radio Access and Network (E-UTRA and E-UTRAN) are the official name used by 3GPP for
LTE UE and its core network, respectively.
 E-UTRAN consists of an eNodeB that acts as a central controller (e.g., base station) connected to a large
number of NB-IoT devices.
 Different eNodeBs are connected to each other and to the core network through protocols such as S1 and X2
protocols
 The term E-UTRAN refers to the network side (eNodeB and core network), while the term E-UTRA
refers to the UE side.
 Each eNodeB is responsible for providing radio covering to a geographical area, and all NB-IoT
devices in this area can be connected to this eNodeB.
 The eNodeBs are interconnected with each other by means of the X2 protocol and interface. The
eNodeBs are also connected by means of the S1 interface to the EPC (Evolved Packet Core)4 which
is the core network.
 eNodeB is connected to the MME (Mobility Management Entity) by means of the S1-MME
interface and to the Serving Gateway (S-GW) by means of the S1-U interface.
 The S1-MME interface carries control-plane messages and signalling, while the S1-U interface
carries the data-plane messages.
 The LTE core network, known as Evolved Packet Core (EPC), has two interfaces with the eNodeB;
S1-MME protocol carries all signalling message, and S1-U carries all user or data messages.
 Data-plane traffic flows from the UE to eNodeB through the S1-U interface to the S-GW, Packet
Gateway (P-GW), and finally to the Internet. Control-plane traffic flows from the UE to the eNodeB
through the S1-MME interface to the MME.
 To handle such a large number of NB-IoT devices, there can be multiple MMEs communicating
with the same eNodeB and performing load-balancing among themselves. MME communicates also
with S-GW and P-GW
MME main functionalities are:
 NAS signalling (e.g., attach and tracking area update procedures, bearer establishment, and
release).
 Authorization and authentication.
 Selection of S-GW and P-GW
 Lawful interception of signalling messages or data-plane message piggybacked with signalling
messages
Serving Gateway (S-GW) is the first component in the EPC that receives the data-plane packets
from the UE through the S1-U interface. If data-plane packets of UE are piggybacked with NAS
signalling messages, then those packets do not go through S-GW.
S-GW main functionalities are as follows:
 Packet forwarding and routing to P-GW.
 Accounting for UE traffic.
 Local mobility anchor. If the UE moved to a different EPC, its traffic is routed through its home
S-GW.
 Lawful interception of data-plane packets.
Packet Gateway (P-GW), which is a gateway to the Packet Data Network (PDN), is the second gateway in EPC. It
acts as the access point for providing connectivity to the UE to the Internet, applications, and services.
P-GW main functions are as follows:
 Support of IPv4, IPv6, DHCPv4, DHCPv6, and allocating an IP address to UE.
 Mapping of EPS bearer QoS parameters (QCI and ARP) to DiffServ Code point.
 Packet filtering and inspection.
 Data rate enforcement for a UE in both downlink and uplink.
 Accounting for UE traffic volume for both downlink and uplink.
 Lawful interception of data-plane packets.
HSS (Home Subscriber Server) is another EPC component used for storing and updating UE subscription
information. HSS also stores UE information where different security keys for identity and traffic encryption are
generated.
HSS main functions are as follows:
 UE identification and addressing. It contains IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) or mobile
telephone number.
 UE profile information. This includes UE-subscribed quality of service information (such as maximum
allowed bit rate or allowed traffic class).
 Provide authentication between MME and UE.
 Provide the security keys used for ciphering and integrityprotecting signalling and data-plane messages
exchanged between the UE and eNodeB.
 Modes of Operation of NB-IOT

The radio interface of the NB-IoT can support three modes of operation as illustrated in Figure. The following are the modes
supported by an NB-IoT device:
 Inband: Utilizing the band of an LTE frequency. It utilizes resource blocks within an LTE carrier bandwidth where one
physical resource block of LTE occupies 180 KHz of bandwidth.
 Guardband: Utilizing the band of an LTE frequency. It utilizes the unused (guard) resource blocks within an LTE
carrier’s guardband.
 Standalone: Utilizing a dedicated carrier other than LTE (e.g., GSMr). It occupies one GSM channel (200 KHz).
For the inband mode, NB-IoT signal occupies 180 KHz or one Physical Resource Block (PRB) within the LTE bandwidth.
When the PRB is not used for NB-IoT, eNodeB can schedule it for other LTE traffic.
Benefits of NB-IOT

The benefits of NB-IoT include:

 Ubiquitous coverage and connectivity. NB-IoT can help support massive numbers of devices
by establishing NB-IoT networks that can connect to billions of nodes. Designed for extended
coverage indoors, the lower complexity of the devices provides long-range connectivity and
communication.
 Low power consumption. NB-IoT doesn't need to run a heavy operating system, such as Linux,
or do a lot of signal processing, which makes it more power efficient compared to other cellular
technologies.
 Low cost of devices. Because it's easier to create devices with lower complexity, the cost of the
devices is significantly low, around $5 per module.
 Multiyear battery life. The enhanced power consumption capability enables NB-IoT to
support a multiyear battery life for devices.
 Security. NB-IoT is secured much like 4G, including all encryption and SIM-based
authentication features.
 Application of NB-IOT

 Smart metering. NB-IoT works well for monitoring water and gas meters via regular and small data transmissions.
Network coverage is a major problem in rolling out smart metering as meters are often installed in difficult locations, such
as deep underground, in cellars or in remote rural areas. NB-IoT coverage and penetration are able to address this issue.
 Smart cities. NB-IoT can help local governments control street lighting, determine when trash bins must be emptied,
identify free parking spaces, monitor environmental conditions and survey road conditions.
 Smart buildings. NB-IoT connected sensors can send alerts to facilities managers regarding building maintenance issues.
There are also indoor temperature monitoring systems that are based on NB-IoT sensors. NB-IoT can serve to back up a
building's broadband connection.
 Tracking. NB-IoT provides a secure, inexpensive way to track people, animals and assets when continuous tracking isn't
necessary. NB-IoT is good for tracking objects that may not be moving all the time.
 Smart farming. NB-IoT connectivity enables farmers and cities to capture data from environmental sensors containing
NB-IoT modules that can send alerts if anything out of the ordinary happens. These sensors could be used to monitor the
temperature and humidity of the soil, as well as to track the attributes of land, pollution, noise and rain.
 Smart Parking:
 Water conservation:
 Alarms and Events detectors: