This paper examines narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) as a viable connectivity access option for the growing IoT market. It also looks at the role of Tech Mahindra's NB-IoT in this strategically important market.

1. US42432417
I D C T E C H N O L O G Y S P O T L I G H T
NB-IoT Provides Solution to Mobile Network
Operators' IoT Needs
April 2017
Adapted from Worldwide Internet of Things Installed Base by Connectivity Forecast, 2017–2021,
IDC #US42331917 By Carrie MacGillvary and Adam Wright
Brought to you by Tech Mahindra, Powered by IDC
As the Internet of Things (IoT) market continues to experience strong momentum, mobile network
operators are facing increased competition as a result of complex end-user requirements for
scalability, security, network capacity, and network performance. There is an ongoing debate of what
type of connectivity will win out in the long run. IDC expects that many connectivity access types
(such as fixed, cellular, low-power wide area network [LPWAN], short-range wireless/wireless LAN,
and satellite) will coexist. This paper examines narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) as a viable connectivity
access option for the growing IoT market. It also looks at the role of Tech Mahindra's NB-IoT in this
strategically important market.
Introduction
As the number of worldwide IoT deployments continues to grow, the need for reliable and robust
connectivity to endpoints is becoming a focal point across geographies and vertical industries.
IDC estimates there will be over 82 billion connected IoT devices by 2025 (see Worldwide Internet of
Things Installed Base by Connectivity Forecast, 2017–2021, IDC #US42331917). However, it is
becoming clear that mobile network operators need to investigate options that provide enterprises
with answers to their increasing concern with security, network capacity and performance, and up-
front/ongoing costs as they look to scale their IoT deployments. For business decision makers, it is a
complex proposition to decide what type(s) of connectivity should be used to support an IoT
deployment. Some considerations these mobile network operators and business decision makers
need to understand are as follows:
 High bandwidth and low latency are increasingly critical to successful IoT deployments. As
more endpoints become connected and highly distributed, managing and coordinating large volumes
of data and real-time communication will bring about new challenges, particularly with regard to
scalability. IoT sensors and devices will increasingly be dynamic in nature and require intelligent
decision-making abilities in real time. Higher bandwidths and lower latencies will be critical to many
IoT deployments, especially in areas such as vehicle-to-vehicle communications, medical devices,
financial transactions, and energy management. Connectivity providers will need to innovate to
successfully handle variable workloads across IoT networks in a scalable and reliable manner.
 Hybrid solutions are valid options. Hybrid networks are increasingly implemented whereby a
cellular, wired, or satellite connection is used at the gateway and LPWAN (such as NB-IoT) or
short-range wireless technologies are used to aggregate endpoint data streams. Hybrid solutions
will find use in both consumer use cases (e.g., smart homes) and enterprise/industrial use cases
(e.g., remote oil and gas refineries, smart city solutions). In this respect, LPWA networks and
cellular networks will coexist.

2. ©2017 IDC2
 Edge compute momentum will require fast, secure, and reliable network connectivity.
The topic of edge compute is garnering increased attention in the industry. With a myriad of
devices at the edge of the network, there's been a push to develop edge computing capabilities
for the data collected at the edge of the network. While data pertaining to critical IoT applications
will be either processed at the edge or sent to the cloud over LTE-M/5G for fast, secure, reliable
transport (in many instances), a need will remain for massive IoT application data to be sent to
the cloud or enterprise datacenter. Per IDC's 2016 Global IoT Decision Maker Survey, 43% of
organizations plan to process some or all of the data at the edge. However, 68.5% of
organizations said they will send the data back to the enterprise rather than process all of the
data at the edge (this includes organizations that will process some at the edge and transport
some data to the enterprise).
 Long battery life in many IoT devices is a requirement. Unlike smartphone devices, which are
swapped out approximately every two years, IoT devices will be installed and in service for a
much longer time frame — in some cases 10–20 years. These devices, in many instances, will be
in remote or hard-to-access locations and thus will rely on battery power. Several connectivity
access types require significant power to connect. However, LPWAN technologies — such as
NB-IoT — offer reduced battery strain and a compelling option for use cases that will have
battery-operated devices deployed for a long period.
Over the past couple of years, LPWAN technology has received considerable attention because of its
lower device cost, coverage area, device battery life, and capacity density. NB-IoT is one of the
LPWA network technologies that are available on the market today. The advantage that NB-IoT has
over other technologies is that it operates over licensed spectrum and is a standardized 3GPP
specification. It can be deployed within existing LTE spectrum or in unused, yet dedicated, LTE
spectrum on a mobile network operator's network.
NB-IoT can help mobile network operators bridge the gap between their traditional cellular
capabilities provided by 3G and 4G/LTE networks and the upcoming 5G next-generation cellular
network — which isn't expected to be commercially available in select regions until 2019 or 2020.
Current LTE networks are naturally designed to support mobile broadband requirements rather than
mass IoT connectivity, which — in many cases — requires ubiquitous coverage, low power
consumption, and better signal strength. NB-IoT provides the IoT purpose-built network that serves
the specific needs of IoT deployments and is a perfect supplement to LTE, meeting the
abovementioned mass IoT connectivity and, at the same time, offering efficient use of spectrum.
Definitions
To help readers understand the discussion in this Technology Spotlight, IDC provides definitions of
some of the main technology terms referenced throughout the document.
Internet of Things (IoT): A network of uniquely identified endpoints that autonomously connect
bidirectionally using IP connectivity
Low-power wide area network (LPWAN): A networking technology type that is designed for IoT
endpoints that operate on batteries for extended periods without maintenance (e.g., 10+ years) and
premised on periodic communications intervals with limited data transmission requirements
(Within this category, there are two types of LPWAN technologies: 3GPP LPWA standards (NB-IoT,
LTE-MTC, EC-GSM-IoT) designed to operate in licensed spectrum and proprietary radio technologies
operating in unlicensed spectrum, such as those provided by LoRa, Sigfox, and 6LoPWAN.)
Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT): A 3GPP ratified standard that leverages licensed spectrum for IoT
connectivity and can operate on existing LTE spectrum or in unused LTE spectrum bands
(The NB-IoT standard was finalized in June 2016.)

3. ©2017 IDC 3
Opportunities for NB-IoT
NB-IoT provides several key benefits to mobile network operators and enterprise/government
organizations looking to deploy an IoT solution. These benefits include the following:
 Improved indoor coverage
 Support for many connected devices
 Low latency
 Low device cost
 Low power (i.e., battery) consumption
Several use cases will benefit from NB-IoT as the primary connectivity type, including:
 Smart metering (e.g., gas, water, electricity)
 Smart cities (e.g., parking, lighting, garbage collection)
 Asset tracking (e.g., fleet management, equipment monitoring, pet tracking)
 Agriculture (e.g., agricultural planting, livestock tracking, soil environment monitoring)
In all these use cases, the need for coverage over a vast geographic area, long device life cycles,
and mostly intermittent communications lend themselves well to using NB-IoT as the primary
connectivity method. As depicted in Figure 1, NB-IoT is better suited for massive IoT application
deployments than for business-critical applications.
FIGURE 1
A Comparison of Massive IoT Applications and Critical IoT Applications
Source: Tech Mahindra, 2017
Huge Scaling, Low Duty Cycle,
Very Latency Tolerant, Loss Tolerant
Moderate Scaling, Variable Duty
Cycle
Very Latency Sensitive, Loss
Intolerant
Massive loT Critical loT
Smart Cities Industrial loT Commercial loT
Transportation & Parking
Environment
Energy Monitoring
Agriculture
Manufacturing(Sensors)
HVAC Sensors
Inventory
Management
Remote Healthcare
Automatic Driving
& Traffic Safety
Public Safety
& Emergency Response
Energy
(Grid Control)
Factory Automation
AR / VR
Hi-Definition Surveillance

4. ©2017 IDC4
Considering Tech Mahindra: NB-IoT Services and Support
Tech Mahindra is a global company that provides technology solutions and services, outsourcing,
and technology platforms for companies looking to transform. With its strong background as a
systems integrator in the telecommunications market, Tech Mahindra helps mobile network operators
build managed IoT networks and enterprises build IoT solutions across verticals. The company
boasts expertise in 3GPP radio access technology, managed network services, and IoT solutions and
can apply that expertise to NB-IoT technology adoption specifically. Some of the offerings that Tech
Mahindra provides for NB-IoT projects are as follows:
 Testing NB-IoT device and base to verify compliance
 Scaling of packet core networks to support machine-type communication (MTC) use cases
 Developing lightweight packet core solutions optimized for IoT traffic profiles
 Providing over-the-top (OTT) IoT services
In addition, Tech Mahindra can help meet the needs of its customers — mobile network operators
and enterprises alike — with its ability to integrate with IoT platforms as well as business and
analytics solutions on the market.
Challenges
While NB-IoT provides a lot of opportunity to the IoT market as more deployments take place, it's
important to understand some of the technology-related concerns that Tech Mahindra and other
vendors face in the context of the large connectivity landscape. Challenges include:
 Upfront and ongoing costs. As the number of connected devices continues to grow, monthly
service fees will increasingly become a burden for enterprises and government organizations
making large deployments. To achieve success in the NB-IoT segment of the market, mobile
network operators must develop multiple models for billing to help support the connectivity needs
for the specific customer or use case.
 Network upgrade costs. For mobile network operators, upgrading to NB-IoT is not without cost.
Mobile network operators will be required to invest significantly in hardware and software technology
to support the rollout of NB-IoT. With the promise of 5G deploying in 2019/2020, there may be some
concern about the longer-term viability of NB-IoT after 5G becomes commercially available.
 Geographic coverage. NB-IoT provides excellent network coverage within a set geographic
area (i.e., a municipality, enterprise campus), but it's not intended to provide ubiquitous coverage
over a whole region or country. NB-IoT will serve many use cases well, such as smart city, asset
tracking, and agricultural deployments, but it may not be ideal for other use cases such as
connected car or nationwide freight transportation.
 Competing connectivity technologies. Connectivity is the common denominator in the IoT —
connecting endpoints. However, the landscape of connectivity includes many different access
technologies, including wired/fixed, cellular (i.e., 3G, 4G/LTE), short-range wireless, and wireless
LAN and satellite as well as other LPWAN technologies such as LoRa and Sigfox. In many
cases, the connectivity required is a factor of the use case. There is opportunity for all the
abovementioned connectivity types to coexist in the IoT market.

5. ©2017 IDC 5
Conclusion
NB-IoT is positioned to be an important network technology over the coming years as IoT
deployments continue in earnest — especially in use cases such as smart metering, smart cities,
asset tracking, and agriculture. While there is competition across connectivity access types, these
networks can coexist, especially as deployments look to hybrid approaches to optimize connectivity
for the use case. IDC believes that the IoT market will continue to grow, and to the extent that
Tech Mahindra can address the challenges described in this paper, the company has a significant
opportunity for success.
A B O U T T H I S P U B L I C A T I O N
This publication was produced by IDC Custom Solutions. The opinion, analysis, and research results presented herein
are drawn from more detailed research and analysis independently conducted and published by IDC, unless specific vendor
sponsorship is noted. IDC Custom Solutions makes IDC content available in a wide range of formats for distribution by
various companies. A license to distribute IDC content does not imply endorsement of or opinion about the licensee.
C O P Y R I G H T A N D R E S T R I C T I O N S
Any IDC information or reference to IDC that is to be used in advertising, press releases, or promotional materials requires
prior written approval from IDC. For permission requests, contact the IDC Custom Solutions information line at 508-988-7610
or gms@idc.com. Translation and/or localization of this document require an additional license from IDC.
For more information on IDC, visit www.idc.com. For more information on IDC Custom Solutions, visit
http://www.idc.com/prodserv/custom_solutions/index.jsp.
Global Headquarters: 5 Speen Street Framingham, MA 01701 USA P.508.872.8200 F.508.935.4015 www.idc.com