Australia's Telstra and Ericsson have announced the successful trial of long-rage NB-IoT data connections up to 100km from a mobile base station.
The trial used technology developed by Ericsson that extends the 3GPP standards-based limit from around 40km out to 100km, and requires only a software upgrade with no hardware changes required.
The new capability will expand Telstra's nationwide IoT coverage to more than 3.5 million square kilometers.
Telstra launched LTE Cat-M1 IoT coverage in 2017 and deployed NB-IoT technology on this network in January this year.
During the trial, the extended NB-IoT range was demonstrated using temperature sensor located 94km from a Telstra base station.
The network's ability to penetrate difficult urban locations was demonstrated using a sensor located three floors below ground level in an underground parking lot beyond the reach of regular LTE signals, and a solar powered weather station reporting temperature, humidity, rainfall and leaf wetness was also tested.
“We’re partnering with Telstra to deliver its customers a world-leading capability in NB-IoT extended range cells and demonstrating the huge opportunity that IoT represents in rural and regional areas for both Australia and globally, particularly for logistics and agriculture,” Ericsson MD of Australia and New Zealand Emilio Romeo said.