IoT battle: Carriers' big narrowband push

PARIS—Critics say that cellular network carriers, too preoccupied with 4G data-capacity issues, are neglecting their Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) opportunities.

However, despite widespread skepticism, the cellular industry is fully aware that non-cellular players such as the LoRa Alliance and Sigfox are ratcheting up the competition, using unlicensed spectrum for their edge in the emerging IoT network battle.

In response, cellular network operators will return to the Mobile World Congress next week to demonstrate a renewed commitment to Cellular IoT, recently agreed upon and designated as LTE Cat-M1 and LTE Cat-M2.

LTE chipmaker Sequans Communications S.A. revealed Tuesday (Feb. 16) that it has partnered with Gemalto, an LTE module supplier, to extend their LTE Category 1 collaboration. They’re developing a new set of narrowband LTE Machine Type Communication solutions (MTC) based on Category M1 and M2 technologies.

This article was originally published on EE Times. To read the rest of the article, please click here.