4 Ways NB-IoT and Cat M1 Will Impact Businesses

Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and Category (Cat) M1 are cellular low-power wide-area network (LPWA or LPWAN) technologies. They’re known for reducing costs and extending battery life for long-lasting deployments. NB-IoT and Cat M1 support Power Saving Mode (PSM) and extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX) and were introduced in 3GPP’s Release (Rel) 13.  

NB-IoT was introduced as a solution for stationary devices, while Cat M1 can support also mobility use cases. Rel 14 gave enhanced mobility functionality to NB-IoT but not to the extent of cellular. NB-IoT is ideal for smart meters, warehouses and underground facilities. Compared to NB-IoT, Cat M1 is able to deliver higher data rates and offers lower latency. Cat M1’s use cases include asset trackers, cold-chain monitors and mobile point-of-sale devices. Join us for a deep dive into these two cellular LPWA technologies. We will explore their benefits, use cases and the top four ways they are impacting businesses.