Deutsche Telekom will launch NarrowBand-IoT (NB-IoT) in Germany in the second quarter of 2017 – as part of expanding the cost-effective technology across Europe.

Deutsche Telekom is already running several IoT pilots with large customers in the areas of smart metering, smart parking and asset tracking in Germany.

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Deutsche Telekom will be completing the nationwide implementation of the NB-IoT network in the Netherlands in 2017. The telecom operator is in talks with several customers, including indoor climate specialist Itho Daalderop, railway maintenance specialist Dual Inventive and sensor maker Smartsensors to use the IoT network in the Netherlands.

Deutsche Telekom plans to extend the existing NB-IoT coverage to more cities in other European markets, including Austria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia in 2017.

“As the first company to push NarrowBand-IoT across Europe, we are proud to provide further evidence of Deutsche Telekom’s technology leadership,” says Claudia Nemat, Board Member for Technology and Innovation at Deutsche Telekom.

Deutsche Telekom is in the process of upgrading its cellular base stations across Europe to support NarrowBand-IoT using the 900MHz and 800MHz frequency. The technology has achieved the promised 20dB improvement in coverage.

In October 2016, Deutsche Telekom presented the world’s first live NB-IoT system and smart parking application in Bonn, Germany. The IoT technology’s advantages are its low-cost factor, good coverage in buildings (20 dB more than GSM), long battery life of connected devices (up to 10 years with two AA batteries with NB-IoT typical usage patterns) and usage of licensed spectrum.

The Germany-based Ista, an energy service provider with more than 15 million connected devices in houses in Europe, will use Deutsche Telekom’s NB-IoT network to focus on the intelligent recording, visualization and billing of energy consumption.