Characteristics Analysis on NB-IoT Channels in Rural Scenario for Smart Grid Communications

Future smart meter reading system will consider the combination of wire and wireless transmissions. The Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), as a promising low power wide area network (LPWAN) wireless transmission technology, has attracted more attentions in smart grid field. In this paper, the channel characteristics of NB-IoT in typical rural scenario are investigated. By reconstructing the rural scenario using the ray tracing method, the multipath signal propagations between the transmitters (Txs) in different positions and receivers (Rxs) can be tracked. Based on ray tracing simulations, the key channel characteristics, such as power delay profile (PDP), channel capacity, root mean-square (RMS), delay spread (DS) and angular spread (AS) are presented and analyzed. The simulation results can provide a significant reference for the future deployments of Tx and Rx, which are crucial for the better application of NB-IoT technology in smart meter reading system.