M1 NB-IoT TLC IRL FTW

M1 has announced the launch of, what it claims, is South-east Asia’s first commercial nationwide NB-IoT in Singapore.

Seeing Singapore do some pretty wonderful things in the digital world is just part of the wallpaper now, but this is an area where it is seemingly on par with everyone else. Vodafone and Orange have been talking about nationwide NB-IoT networks for some time; it certainly is unusual for European nations to be keeping pace with a nation like Singapore.

The new platform from M1 will offer various different IoT applications to customers from smart energy management for buildings, environmental monitoring, asset tracking and fleet management. But this is only the beginning. As with every other technological breakthrough, the clever ones only need the platform and a bit of freedom; there could be some interesting ideas on the horizon.

“The launch of Southeast Asia’s first commercial nationwide NB-IoT network will accelerate our journey into a digital society,” said Karen Kooi, CEO of M1.

“The Internet of Things will open up an incredible array of fresh opportunities and innovation. We look forward to working closely with government agencies, technology partners, and customers to enable smart solutions for everything and everyone”

“The Internet of Things is a key technology area for growth which will drive Singapore’s Digital Economy for a Smart Nation,” said Tan Kiat How, Chief Executive, Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore.

“We are heartened that M1 has rolled out their narrowband IoT network on a nationwide basis and partnered enterprises to bring ready solutions to market and accelerate innovation to empower possibilities. We encourage companies to embrace the exciting benefits of NB-IoT as we move towards the digital future.”

One of the first customers to test out the new platform will be Keppel Electric, who will use NB-IoT Energy Management Meter, which is expected to enable it to deploy power and water meters to its customers’ premises faster and more cost-effectively.

While NB-IoT has been collecting a lot of column inches in recent months, the attention is probably well deserved. Advantages of NB-IoT technology include low-bandwidth, robust indoor penetration and highly efficient power usage, as well as utilising licensed spectrum such as data integrity, user confidentiality and security.

It’s a stepping stone towards the big, wide world of IoT; we’re only just dipping our toe into the pool of billions of devices that can get connected.