Telstra deploys narrowband IoT network

Telstra has deployed a narrowband IoT network in major Australian cities and a number of regional towns to support its existing nationwide LTE Cat M1 IoT network.

With the deployment, Telstra has become the first operator in Australia and one of the first in the world to support both IoT technologies simultaneously.

The existing Cat M1 IoT network has a total coverage area of around 3 million square kilometres, and Telstra already connects more than 2 million IoT devices over its network. The company also offers connected lights, cameras and motion sensors on the Telstra Smart Home platform.

“We’ve embraced both Cat M1 and Narrowband to give our customers, particularly our enterprise customers in industries like transportation and logistics, mining, manufacturing and agriculture, the opportunity to choose which technology best suits their needs,” Telstra COO Robyn Denholm said.

“Cat M1 is well suited to applications with data in the 100s of kilobits per second with extended range and long battery life, such as a personal health monitor or a device used to measure vehicle performance. Narrowband is better suited to applications sending even smaller amounts of data and operating with an even longer battery life, such as a moisture sensor or livestock tracking device.”

The rollout forms part of Telstra’s Networks for the Future program, which is being funded as part of Telstra’s additional $3 billion investment in transforming its business.

As part of its IoT business, Telstra also announced it has entered into a smart city partnership with the Tasmanian and federal governments, as well as several Tasmanian councils and the University of Tasmania, to develop and trial new IoT solutions for Launceston.

As part of the agreement the partners will establish an IoT lab in the city, while Telstra will support the creation of a Tasmanian Agritech Start-up Accelerator.

Image credit: © everythingpossible/Dollar Photo Club

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