Internet of Things (IoT) implementations typically utilize low-power wireless technologies like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and LoRa for connectivity, enabling wireless devices like sensors to remain in the field for extended periods of time on a single battery charge. The low operational costs of those wireless technologies have also made them ideal for IoT, where the sheer number of devices involved in deployments make data-transfer costs important to manage.
蜂窝技术在很大程度上是智能手机和平板电脑的领域，由于其电池使用量以及通过手机网络的数据传输的较高运行成本，因此在物联网实施中使用了有限的范围。这种动态随着可用性而改变了two ultra-low-power versions of cellular technology designed specifically for IoT：LTE-M和NB-iot(Fig. 1).
In this article, we’ll dispel 11 myths about cellular IoT and explain how the new protocols make cellular technology an attractive option for engineers designing IoT devices and network deployments.
1. The ubiquity of cellular infrastructure would be great as a foundation for connecting IoT devices, but cellular technology would drain a sensor’s battery in the blink of an eye.
过去确实如此，但现在不再归功于专门为物联网部署设计的LTE蜂窝协议的两个新版本。是的，当您查看用于iPhone，Galaxy手机，平板电脑和其他消费者设备的蜂窝技术时，对电池排水的关注非常有效。这些设备需要一种与使用方式和应用程序定期检查消息，呼叫和其他功能的功能和应用程序的“始终”方法，该方法与它们的使用方式相符。
消费设备的蜂窝标准还旨在处理视频流等高通量应用程序。It’s a constant drain on batteries, which is why our kids are always hyper-aware of the battery level on their devices and looking for a place to plug in. Such a protocol would drain an IoT device’s battery in a hurry, but temperature sensors don’t need to watch YouTube videos.
新的LTE-M和NB-IOT协议使用睡眠周期以及其他巧妙的硬件和软件工程方法来sip能量而不是嘲笑它。请注意，LTE-M/NB-IOT硬件可以通过此带宽限制来缩放，从而使设备的处理器密集型较低，因此较少的电源漏气。这些品质结合在一起，使设备的电池在现场持续10年或更长时间。
2.蜂窝技术不是为具有很少数据传输的低型带宽设备而构建的。
对于您的iPhone或Galaxy的蜂窝版本可能是正确的，但对于LTE-M和NB-IOT并非如此。这两个新的蜂窝协议专为低带宽的物联网应用程序而设计，使用无线设备，只需要很少传输数据。这些偶尔数据传输后，传感器或其他设备可以迅速恢复入睡，从而最大程度地减少电池的排水口(Fig. 2).
3. But my deployments are really big. There’s no way cellular IoT could be cost-effective.
LTE-M和NB-iot的设计成本是按大规模运营成本，使它们与用于物联网部署的其他协议竞争。蜂窝IoT的运营成本和总拥有成本将引起工程团队的大开眼界。
It’s also important to keep in mind that LTE-M and NB-IoT remove the network infrastructure from the customer’s and OEM’s cost structure. By using public cellular network infrastructure, the organization doesn’t need to deploy the network, own it, and maintain it. Those costs are borne by the wireless carrier, which eliminates a source of operational costs for IoT deployments.
4.使用蜂窝技术设计是复杂而令人沮丧的。
使用智能手机和平板电脑的协议的蜂窝设计确实很复杂。在无线工程行业中，这是一门学科，但是蜂窝协议的两个特定于物联网版本比传统的蜂窝蜂窝蜂窝蜂窝使用要简单得多。这是创建LTE-M和NB-iot的工作组的指导原则，特别是因为人们认为很难使用蜂窝技术。
是的，这些细胞IoT协议仍然比蓝牙更复杂。但是，嵌入式解决方案可以避开这种复杂性，从而降低了无线项目测试和认证的一部分风险。
5. The carriers don’t care about IoT. They make their money elsewhere and IoT isn’t a priority.
There’s a misconception that carriers would be hostile or, at best, indifferent to any use of their networks not related to their primary services to consumers and business clients. The opposite is true: Carriers see the growth of IoT as a way to make their networks more vital and to be more robustly utilized by balancing different kinds of data traffic across the same infrastructure. For that reason, telecom carriers played a pivotal role in making LTE-M and NB-IoT possible.
创建两个协议的工作组希望确保使用蜂窝基础结构作为基础的物联网部署将由运营商妥善支持。这些协议代表了从事蜂窝物联网部署的运营商和组织的双赢。
6.批准这项技术是一回事，但是运营商永远不会关心物联网，以至于我以使重要的物联网部署依赖于它们。
现实情况是，运营商正在为物联网客户竞争。如果他们认为这对网络的价值至关重要，那么他们就不会为此提供资源，如误解5中所述。通过使其网络成为物联网的骨干，运营商正在与无线行业增长最快的领域之一保持一致。
Carriers aren’t hostile or indifferent to IoT. They see it as a key to their future because there’s an upper limit on how many cellular subscriptions can be derived from consumer devices like smartphones and tablets. By making their networks a viable backbone for IoT implementations, carriers can drive growth by supporting billions of additional devices.
7. Ten years of battery life is pure marketing fluff. There’s no way that’s possible in the real world.
I’m as skeptical as they come when it comes to spec sheets about wireless technology, but this isn’t a marketing claim. It’s math. Yes, the exact math depends on the size of your battery and other aspects of your design, but the battery life of LTE-M and NB-IoT devices is remarkable.
LTE-M和NB-iot的设计是用睡眠/唤醒周期设计的，使工程师能够成功地实现其目的，同时以少量的量化能量。所涉及的关键功能称为节省模式（PSM）和扩展的不连续接收（EDRX），它们相互协同工作以延长电池寿命。
PSM allows devices to be programmed to go into a deep-sleep mode while still being reachable. eDRX optimizes the length of time between paging cycles, which can be extended in 10.24-second increments for long periods of inactivity in between activating a paging window. Together, these two technologies make 10-year battery life a potential reality (again, depending on your device design and battery size) in real-world settings rather than just a marketing claim.
8.我无法使用蜂窝物联网，因为我不知道最终将使用哪种配置的物联网设备使用哪种协议。
工程团队不面对一个非此即彼的决定when it comes to LTE-M and NB-IoT. Unlike some other wireless protocols that force you to make hard choices early in the design process, cellular IoT allows you to embed both technologies in a device. Therefore, your team has the option of using one or the other as best suits the implementation, as well as the flexibility on how that device will be used later on. The provisioner will be able to optimize the device’s and IoT network’s performance later by leveraging whichever makes the most sense on a device-by-device basis.
9.蜂窝认证很艰巨，我无力延长时间来推销该物联网项目。
是的，与蓝牙这样的技术相比，蜂窝的认证具有更多的层，但是通过使用基于LTE-M和NB-iot的预认证的调制解调器，可以脱离风险和加速该过程。细胞认证层包括无线电监管（FCC/IC等），网络（PTCRB/GCF）和载体（AT＆T认证）。使用预先认证的无线组件和经验丰富的无线设计合作伙伴可以帮助浏览这些步骤，以最大程度地减少挫折和速度的市场。
10. I also want to use other wireless technologies, but cellular has never played nicely in the sandbox.
我相信大部分的蜂窝物联网部署将涉及多种无线技术的实现，这对于蜂窝物联网与其他无线协议一起工作至关重要（图3）. Bluetooth is a particularly attractive complement to LTE-M and NB-IoT, with Bluetooth doing the short distance device-to-device communication and LTE-M/NB-IoT doing the backhaul communication to the network.
将蜂窝物联网与蓝牙等其他协议相结合的公司需要仔细导航如何共同列出多个无线电以优化性能并成功通过认证。预先认证的解决方案可以照顾细胞和刺激性的整合，使工程师更简单，更快。
11.细胞物联网很有趣，但与许多现实世界项目无关。
现在，工程团队已经意识到，蜂窝技术对于物联网项目是实用且具有成本效益的，他们正在查看的用例数量，这些用例的数量是在一长串的行业和业务需求中的跨度。这个white paper does a deep dive into three cases利用蜂窝物联网和蓝牙技术，用于涉及冷链监测，工业设备监控的实际应用（图4）和电动充电站。这三种情况只是刮擦了如何使用细胞物联网的表面。
乔纳森·凯（Jonathan Kaye）是产品管理高级总监Laird连接性.
