NB-IoT Testbed for Industrial Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the general term for interconnecting objects interacting to achieve a common goal such as in the monitoring of physical phenomena and control of mission-critical infrastructures. The recent paradigm shifts in industrial communication technology necessitate that industrial parameters such as temperature, pressure, vibrations and leaks should be remotely monitored using reliable wireless technologies. They can provide a wide range of new service capabilities that would improve industrial operations and meet business needs. Examining the wireless technologies proposed to enable such connections, factors such as the infrastructural interoperability, cost of deployment, security and mobility need dictates the choice of wireless connections. Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) as an enabler of such services with massive connectivity options, good power utilization, long-distance transmission, higher data throughput in 4G and 5G applications has not been explored to a great degree. In this paper, we have shown an in-depth practical approach to setting up an NB-IoT test network and carried out different deployment testing using NB-IoT devices and an LTE/NB-IoT base station. The findings provide the necessary security requirements, the test network power and latency performance and the global spectrum deployment options for a potential private licensed NB-IoT network.