T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) announced the nation’s first plan for narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) for just $6 per year. At one tenth the cost of Verizon’s Cat-M plans, T-Mobile’s new NB-IoT plan takes advantage of narrowband technology, and the efficiency it provides, to significantly lower the costs of connecting things and unleash the next wave of IoT innovation.
The Un-carrier was the first wireless company in North America to launch NB-IoT last October and plans to launch the technology nationwide by mid-year. T-Mobile also announced that the company has certified new NB-IoT modules from u-blox and Sierra Wireless for use on its network.
“The number of connected devices already outnumbers the worldwide population, and it’s only getting bigger. So, of course, T-Mobile is taking advantage of the latest IoT tech to make it simpler – and massively more affordable – for businesses and cities to connect things,” said Mike Sievert, Chief Operating Officer for T-Mobile. “Launching Narrowband IoT is a giant step toward 5G IoT, and naturally, T-Mobile is leading the way!”
Built on the 3GPP standard, NB-IoT is an LTE-Advanced technology. NB-IoT provides a pathway to 5G IoT and offers many comparable benefits like low power usage, long battery life and support for more connections per cell site. With NB-IoT, T-Mobile is laying the foundation for the future and giving customers peace of mind that their solutions are future proof.
T-Mobile’s new NB-IoT plan lights up new capabilities to connect massive numbers of devices with small and steady streams of data at low cost. NB-IoT is much more affordable than Cat-M and is already the globally-preferred standard to power the rapidly expanding world of IoT applications. Because it can operate in guard bands – the network equivalent of driving down the shoulders on the highway – NB-IoT carries data with greater efficiency and performance and doesn’t compete with other data traffic for network resources.
For a limited time, T-Mobile’s NB-IoT plan is available for $6 per year up to 12 MB per connected device. It’s ideal for applications that require low bandwidth, long battery life and large numbers of sensors, like asset tracking, smart city applications, smart agriculture and more. T-Mobile plans to support the full ecosystem of LTE technologies for IoT to meet the differing needs of customers. The Un-carrier currently offers Cat-1 IoT Access Packs for applications that require more bandwidth and voice, and T-Mobile expects to launch Cat-M nationwide shortly after NB-IoT is available.
