Source: Content compiled from lightreading

AT&T has said it will retire its narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network next year. But Verizon and T-Mobile are moving forward with their NB-IoT offerings.

AT&T's decision comes as the market for IoT services continues to evolve. NB-IoT is one of several IoT network types, but it has yet to gain much traction outside of China. Meanwhile, other IoT network technologies, including LoRa, LTE-M and 5G RedCap, are gaining ground.

“We are improving our Internet of Things (IoT) services for enterprise customers by moving from Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) to our LTE-M network,” AT&T said in a statement first reported by RCR Wireless News. “This change will provide more data capacity for fixed and mobile devices. As a result, we have stopped certifying new NB-IoT devices and have stopped selling data plans that leverage the NB-IoT network. We are working closely with our customers to make this process as smooth as possible.”

AT&T added that it is working with existing NB-IoT customers to transition them to LTE-M while phasing out and decommissioning its NB-IoT network. The carrier declined to answer questions about how many NB-IoT customers it has, though it reported a total of 128 million "connected devices" on its network earlier this year. These devices include monitoring equipment and automotive systems, among others.

AT&T said it hopes to complete the decommissioning of its NB-IoT network by the first quarter of 2025.

AT&T launched its NB-IoT network in 2019 as a complement to its LTE-M IoT network, which it launched in 2017.

01 NB-IoT indifference

AT&T isn't the only major wireless operator to abandon NB-IoT. Japan's Docomo shut down its NB-IoT network in 2020, while Orange officials have said they prefer other options.

"This is entirely predictable," Mobile Experts analyst Joe Madden wrote in response to questions from Light Reading, explaining that unlike technologies like LTE-M or 5G RedCap, NB-IoT isn't designed to share network resources with other types of traffic.

"Some believe NB-IoT only requires 180 kHz to 200 kHz of bandwidth, but that's a lot of capacity for mobile networks, and it’s inefficient for mobile operators to set aside spectrum that can only be used for IoT," Madden wrote.

Few Western operators have benefited from NB-IoT, Madden added. "NB-IoT is widely used in China, which heavily subsidizes chipsets, making the devices virtually free," he said. "But in the West, the economics are not ideal and few operators will stick with NB-IoT."

In fact, research firm Omdia (a sister company of Light Reading) reported earlier this year that China accounts for nearly 90% of global NB-IoT connections. The company reported that LoRa, a low-cost network technology that can be used in unlicensed spectrum bands, remains popular in other parts of the world.

02 NB-IoT alternatives

LTE-M and 5G RedCap are IoT network technologies for cellular network operators operating in licensed spectrum. Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T all offer LTE-M. As for RedCap, a technology designed for IoT services on 5G networks, T-Mobile has announced RedCap services and Verizon has expressed support for RedCap.

As AT&T exits NB-IoT, T-Mobile and Verizon continue to promote the network technology. In fact, T-Mobile confirmed to Light Reading that it has "no current plans to shut down its NB-IoT network." Likewise, Verizon says its NB-IoT service runs on its 700MHz LTE network, and "we have no plans to shut down the network in the near future."

T-Mobile explains on its website: "NB-IoT is a foundational low-power wide-area (LPWA) technology focused on very small, infrequent data exchanges with very long battery life and low cost. NB-IoT is well suited for fixed use cases such as smart meters, industrial sensors, and environmental sensors."

Similarly, Verizon describes NB-IoT as "best suited for low-power, ultra-low throughput, latency-tolerant, event-triggered, simple fixed (idle mode mobility) sensors."

Meanwhile, T-Mobile says LTE-M (also known as Cat-M or Cat-1) is an "enhanced low-power wide-area (LPWA) technology that supports higher bandwidth, motion devices, over-the-air updates, and voice capabilities. Cat-M/Cat-1/LTE-Mis well suited for use cases such as wearables, facility and consumable monitoring, and fleet and asset tracking."

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