Ericsson, SK Telecom and Sony Mobile has started testing new LTE standards with wearable technology, to explore how best to develop IoT-ready products.
Lab testing has already started in Ericsson’s labs in Kista, Sweden and focused on LTE Category 0 and Category M. The former was standardised in 3GPP Release 12 and aims to reduce complexity and decrease costs for IoT devices. Category M will be part of Release 13, with an aim of further reducing costs and improving battery life.
Field trials will take place on SK Telecom’s live network by the end of this year.
The wearable use cases of the trials concentrate on lifetsyle and wellness apps using the likes of accelerometers, indentification, pulse meter and GPS functionalities.
Izumi Kawanishi, EVP, Product Business Group, Sony Mobile, said: “Sony Mobile regards the push into the realm of IoT and our strategies for diving into this market are critically important. There can be little doubt that the market for network-connected devices – of every shape, size and type – will explode at breakneck pace going forwards. We believe that the trials with Ericsson and SK Telecom are important steps towards the IoT world, realizing solutions that will strengthen user experiences.”
Last week, Ericsson revealed its Networks Software 16B with features it is hoping will help accelerate the adoption of IoT. It supports low cost and low powered devices, as well as aims to improve coverage indoors and in remote locations.