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NB-IoT is a cellular technology designed for IoT sensors that sit in one place and rarely need to send data. A water meter in a basement reports its reading once a day over NB-IoT. It does not need to move between cell towers. It does need to penetrate thick concrete – which NB-IoT does better than standard 4G.
NB-IoT achieves its deep penetration by using a narrow 180 kHz channel and repeating transmissions multiple times. This adds 20 dB of coverage advantage over standard LTE.
- No cell handover – designed for stationary devices only; moving assets should use LTE-M instead
- Data rate – 34-158 kbps depending on NB1/NB2 standard; enough for sensor readings, not for firmware updates
- Penetration – reaches basements, underground meters, and dense-wall buildings that block standard 4G
- Network – runs on existing LTE tower infrastructure, activated by the operator via software configuration