Narrow Band-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) "EMPOWER IAS"

In news:

• In a first, BSNL launches world’s largest NB-IoT to provide connectivity for millions of unconnected machines, sensors and industrial IoT devices across the country.

 

 

What is NB-IoT?

• NB-IoT is a Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technology that works virtually anywhere.
• It will connect many more devices to the Internet of Things and make many new applications a reality.
• It is optimized for applications that need to communicate small amounts of data over long periods of time.
• Since it operates in licensed spectrum, it is secure and reliable providing guaranteed quality of service.
• It connects devices more simply and efficiently on already established mobile networks and handles small amounts of fairly infrequent 2‑way data, securely and reliably.

 

Significance of Satellite-based narrow band-Internet of Things network

• It is in pursuance of the Prime Minister’s vision of a truly Digital India starting with fishermen, farmers, construction, mining and logistics enterprises.
• It will provide India the access to a ubiquitous fabric of connectivity for millions of yet unconnected machines, sensors and industrial IoT devices.
• The coverage will be so vast that it will not leave any dark patch within the boundary of India, from Kashmir &Ladakh to Kanyakumari, and from Gujarat to the North East, including the Indian seas.
• The solution is in line with BSNL's vision to leverage technology to provide affordable and innovative telecom services and products across customers segments
• It supports the Department of Telecom and NITI Aayog’s plan of bringing indigenous IoT connectivity to India’s core sectors.

 

Internet of Things (IoT)

• The IoT describes the network of physical objects—“things”—that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the Internet.
• The definition of the IoT has evolved due to the convergence of multiple technologies, real-time analytics, AI, sensors, and embedded systems.
• In the consumer market, IoT technology is most synonymous with products pertaining to the concept of the “smart home”, including devices and appliances.
• It supports one or more common ecosystems and can be controlled via devices associated with that ecosystem, such as smartphones and smart speakers e.g. Alexa.

 

 

Impact of IoT on the day to day life:

• Car-Calendar Connection: Say for example you are on your way to a meeting; your car could have access to your calendar and already know the best route to take. If the traffic is heavy your car might send a text to the other party notifying them that you will be late.
• Alarm Clock-Coffee Maker Connection: What if your alarm clock wakes up you at 6 a.m. and then notifies your coffee maker to start brewing coffee for you?
• IoT and Google’s Driverless Car: The car has multiple devices which track the movement of objects, captures the images surrounding it and processes the information. It has devices on board that can change the speed and direction of movement depending on the feedback it gets from the external environment. The data is then backed-up on a cloud from which it can receive instructions and behave accordingly, right from throttle accelerator to applying brakes.

 

Impact of IoT on Governance:

• On a broader scale, the IoT can be applied to things like transportation networks: “smart cities” which can help us reduce waste and improve efficiency for things such as energy use; this helping us understand and improve how we work and live.

 

IoT in India

Government of India’s IoT Announcement, has come out with a draft IOT Policy document which focuses on following objectives:

• To create an IoT industry in India of USD 15 billion by 2020. It has been assumed that India would have a share of 5-6% of global IoT industry.
• To undertake capacity development (Human & Technology) for IoT specific skill-sets for domestic and international markets.
• To undertake Research & development for all the assisting technologies.
• To develop IoT products specific to Indian needs in all possible domains.

 

Recent Initiatives

• Government is coming up with a regulatory framework for Internet-of-Things (IoT) along with policies to promote the sector.
• Department of Telecom has come out with a machine-to-machine (M2M) roadmap, with an aim to put regulators, industry agencies that develop standards, users and manufacturers on the same page.
• The Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY), in its draft policy, targets to create an IoT industry in India of $15 billion by 2020.
• Currently, work is going on in the area of numbering schemes for IoT and KYC norms for SIM-embedded M2M devices.
• Telecom Standards Society of India too is working on India-relevant standards with respect to the sector.