Vodafone has completed the first over the air connection on a live network using standardised NB-IoT, as Orange continued its rollout of LoRa technology in the French telco’s Internet of Things play.
The UK-based operator’s NB-IoT demonstration was held in Madrid in partnership with Huawei using spectrum in the 800MHz band.
Vodafone is planning to launch its first NB-IoT networks in four countries early next year.
[Read more: Vodafone plans quartet of countries for NB-IoT launch]
The company said the technology would be supported by more than 20 operators worldwide, accounting for more than 90 percent of the IoT market and serving 2.9 billion customers.
NB-IoT, a licensed spectrum means of enabling IoT, was standardised by 3GPP in June 2016.
Matt Beal, Vodafone’s Group Director of Technology Architecture & Strategy, said: “This first successful trial of NB-IoT on a live commercial network is a significant technology milestone on the path towards a world with billions of devices connected at extremely low cost with minimal power requirements to mobile networks.
“NB-IoT has strong support as the industrial LPWA technology to support our enterprise customers. This successful trial demonstrates Vodafone’s commitment and ability to bring this technology to market early in 2017.”
Meanwhile, Orange said it has exceeded its deployment target for its rollout of LoRa technology, hitting 18 urban areas across some 1,300 towns.
By January 2017, it wants to reach 120 urban areas or around 2,600 towns, offering them indoor and outdoor connectivity.
However, it reiterated its commitment to cellular-based IoT standards. A spokesman said: “The goal is to meet all of its customers’ requirements by offering appropriate connectivity solutions (type of sensor, power connection, speed, coverage, etc.).”
It has previously said it will introduce NB-IoT networks to France by 2018.