Getting at least a decade out of batteries that will power cellular IoT connectivity is critical for the success of the industry. It’s just not cost-effective to be headed out to remote sensor installations, or into machines, to change or charge batteries. They need to last until the whole unit is due for replacement – and that needs to be about 10 years.
It’s been difficult to get there, and very few have been able to do it with any degree of assurance. Well – that’s not true anymore, thanks to a collaborative effort by Ericsson (News - Alert) and AT&T, using a chipset based on an Altair and Telit collaboration announced a few months ago.
“IoT connectivity is essential to helping businesses stay tethered to their assets around the world. Whether a trucking company hauls expensive cargo across the country or a restaurant transports fresh food overseas, a long battery life on their connected devices can help them provide continuous service,” said Cameron Coursey, VP, Product Development, IoT Organization Businesses, AT&T (News - Alert). “Businesses can save money and become more efficient with battery replacements every few years rather than very few months. We are excited to explore these enhanced LTE (News - Alert) MTC technologies and push for alternative chipsets that can increase the lifespan of connected devices.”
Ericsson and AT&T demonstrated the LTE Power Saving Mode on the commercial LTE IoT chipset platform at the GSMA (News - Alert) Mobile 360 Series North America event last week in Atlanta, Georgia.
A vast number of IoT applications are dependent upon this kind of long-term battery life. IoT devices are not always located near a power source and the cost of going out into the field to replace batteries is prohibitive.
Power Saving Mode is an Ericsson Evolved Packet Core feature based on 3GPP for both GSM and LTE networks. The feature, the company said, is able to extend IoT device battery life to at least ten years for common use cases and traffic profiles. It’s accomplished by letting devices enter a new deep sleep mode for days at a time if required, and only waking them up when needed.
“Ericsson is effectively addressing the challenge of battery life with a software-only upgrade to existing LTE networks,” said Thomas Norén, VP and Head of Radio Product Management, Ericsson. “Ongoing standardization of low-power, low-cost LT E modules and devices specifically targeted at IoT applications will fuel stronger growth in the LTE segment. AT&T and Ericsson are committed to LTE for IOT and jointly supported a recent 3GPP work-item for NB-IoT targeted for inclusion in 3GPP Release 13 in 2016 for ultra-low cost applications.”
The module being used in the demo is a version of a chipset that was jointly announced by Telit and Altair in September.
So, that’s done. Let’s move on to a century of battery life, shall we? No sense in resting on your laurels.