MTN has conducted a lab trial for a Cat-M1 solution in South Africa as part of its Internet of Things (IoT) strategy.
Sweden based Telecom infrastructure company Ericsson and US based chipset major Qualcomm Technologies supported MTN.
This is the first Cat-M1 test implementation in the African continent and represents the first stage of a wider scope of test activity. The Cat-M1 trial uses IoT devices integrated with Qualcomm MDM9206 multimode LTE IoT modem and the Ericsson Massive IoT Radio Access Network product.
MTN South Africa will continue trialling devices and applications for Cat-M1 in its Test Bed lab.
Cat-M1 is designed to set a foundation for IoT by reducing complexity, lowering power consumption, expanding coverage, and increasing device density.
Cat-M1 enables IoT applications by providing hundreds of kilobits per second in throughput, mobility, and VoLTE support.
Examples of typical Cat-M1 IoT applications include smart watches or fitness bands with integrated voice communications services, pet tracking devices, point of sale terminals, vending machines and vehicle tracking with emergency calling support.
“Cat-M1 provides key advantages of low-cost devices, long battery life, extended coverage and supports a range of use cases. The initial use of this technology has been for tracking and reporting use cases that have benefited both consumer and business customers,” said Giovanni Chiarelli, CTIO, MTN South Africa.
“Today, majority of telecom operators’ IoT revenue comes from machine-to-machine connectivity, but in the next five years, this will change to revenue from platforms, applications and services. This trial ensures MTN South Africa will capture new revenue streams and deliver the best experience to its customers,” said Rafiah Ibrahim, president, Ericsson Middle East and Africa.
James Munn, vice president of Business Development, Qualcomm South Africa, said the MDM9206 global multimode LTE IoT modem, designed to support LTE Cat M1, NB-1 and E-GPRS and global RF bands, brings many enhancements and optimizations to LTE that can help reduce IoT complexity and up to ten years of battery life and low device costs.
