There's more than one way to connect your business to the Internet of Things, explains Nick Gliddon, Director of Vodafone Business UK.
In August 2024, we announced an ambitious project to enable LTE-M across our network. This is a very important step in our digital mission to democratise technology in the UK.
LTE-M, or Long-Term Evolution for Machines to use its full name, is a type of wireless network technology used to connect Internet of Things (IoT) sensors.
It is a low-power wide area network (LPWAN), meaning it is designed for devices that use a small amount of power, but need a large coverage area. It is also built for IoT use cases that move – a good example might be monitoring the location and status of assets across the UK, such as transporting vital organs between hospitals or the condition of a bus engine.
Making the business case for IoT
While LTE-M is the latest development in our IoT portfolio, the important to thing remember here is that it is indeed a portfolio that exists when it comes to Vodafone’s IoT capabilities. After all, as you can see below, different IoT technologies have different benefits.
*LTE-M can be configured for low-latency and constant connectivity depending on the scenario. **2G services will continue to be available for legacy devices, though Vodafone is providing a path to migrate to a more future-proofed solution.
The objective for Vodafone, therefore, is simple. We want to pair the right technology with the right IoT use case.
This remains a challenge in today’s IoT segment, however. Different devices have different requirements so, if the right connectivity solution is not available, the cost and logistical challenges might undermine the benefits of the use case itself.
And, generally speaking, the higher the requirements, the higher the cost. To ensure that IoT use cases are commercially viable to customers, we have to offer the right technology for their needs.
This can only be done by investing in different, but complementary, solutions. Which is why we have a built a portfolio that allows us to take a technology-agnostic approach to IoT problem solving.
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For example, security cameras at a building may need to live stream footage 24/7. This would require high data upload speed and constant connectivity, and the cameras would likely be plugged into the mains. 4G would, therefore, be the best solution.
On the factory floor, connecting an autonomous production line would require a high upload speed to feed information into the cloud, but also high download speeds and ultra-low latency to make any corrections. 5G would be the best option for this use case.
Out in the wild, we are working with DEFRA to monitor tree growth and support research into the role of trees in tackling climate change. These devices do not move; they send small batches of data periodically and are battery-powered due to their isolated location. In this example, NB-IoT is most suitable.
Finally, if you wanted devices to monitor the delivery of company assets or packages to customers, then your requirements would change once again. In this case, you would want periodic and event-based uploads of small batches of data from a device that’s constantly on the move. LTE-M would be the best solution.
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IoT isn’t a new technology, yet it is still a vastly underutilised one. There are several reasons why.
Firstly, the industry might not have done enough to educate potential users on the benefits of incorporating IoT sensors and platforms.
What IoT does best is offer insights into how your business is operating. This data can support decision making to introduce more efficient processes or policies, or even spot an opportunity to drive additional revenues. But, without that data, you may miss such opportunities.
Secondly, the industry may not have done enough to build the business case from a technology perspective.
Understanding that different use cases have different requirements is critical. Just as you wouldn’t want to force a square peg into a round hole, you wouldn’t want to use 5G to connect air quality monitors in the middle of the countryside – it simply doesn’t make sense.
Having four different, but complementary, IoT solutions available means we can look at a use case from a technology-agnostic position, and then recommend the solution that best fits the requirements.
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