Verizon Business Introduces IoT on 5G Nationwide

26 October 2021 – Verizon Business today announced a powerful combination of customer-facing network, hardware and intelligence offerings for Internet of Things (IoT) applications across various industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation.

In addition to Verizon-certified IoT devices now having access to Verizon’s 5G Nationwide network through current compatible data plans, new Intelligence capabilities combining network and device analytics on a single dashboard are now available for customer trials via Verizon ThingSpace. IoT devices and plans compatible with 5G Ultra Wideband are expected by Q1 2022.

“Verizon Business is a single-provider destination for IoT, with solutions spanning broadband and narrowband, 5G and LTE, intelligence, hardware, and management, for applications across industries,” said TJ Fox, Senior Vice President of Industrial IoT and Automotive, Verizon Business (right). “But it’s not just the expanding breadth of offerings -- it’s the lowered costs, power-efficiency, and heightened accessibility. Broadband IoT on 5G Nationwide and new narrowband IoT hardware in the sub $4 range, with plans under $1, can help open up IoT for new customers, new use cases, and innovative developers.”

The ThingSpace Intelligence suite includes new capabilities and a bundle of existing IoT services, which together allow customers to protect against, detect, and respond to device and connectivity issues and threats. These features are available for customer trial now, with commercial availability expected later this year:

Wireless Network Performance – An advanced analytics-as-a-service offering for coverage, outage, event, service notifications and performance metrics. Customers can view network status and service/maintenance tickets during powerful weather events such as hurricanes.

Anomaly Detection – A service that leverages machine learning to alert users to atypical device behavior (coming in Q4 2021). For example, customers are able to see that a device is using unusual amounts of data, an indication that it might be compromised.

Network-coordinated firmware-over-the-air (FOTA) management – A software management feature for 5G massive IoT devices that performs reachability checks when managing firmware upgrades, resulting in higher device compliance ratios. Users will know that firmware could not be upgraded in some devices because they might have been powered off or experiencing a similar interruption, allowing users to better coordinate and manage upgrades.

ThingSpace Analytics engine – A tool that puts network and device analytics side by side for insight into predictive maintenance and performance notification and alerting. By monitoring and analyzing the millions of signals on Verizon’s networks, this tool generates predictive visualizations of devices and access to the health and performance of IoT connections to rule out connection issues. Customers can visualize data usage trends and adjust data plans, budgets, or device configurations to be more efficient.

Quectel’s new BC660K-GL module achieved certification from Verizon, making the carrier the first in the U.S. to enable the module on its nationwide narrowband IoT network. The module is powered by the Qualcomm 212 LTE IoT modem and supports multiple frequency bands with extremely low power consumption. It’s ultra-compact profile of 17.7 mm × 15.8 mm × 2.0 mm and low cost of sub $4 makes it a good choice for new narrowband-IoT device launches. Connectivity plans from Verizon will start at less than $1. The module offers vital low power consumption for applications that expect to operate for 15 or 20 years without being touched (e.g., smart meters, HVAC units, air and water quality monitors, manufacturing controls), at a price point that significantly lowers barriers to entry and opens up massive IoT possibilities.

“We’re delighted that our BC660K-GL module has been certified with Verizon so it can be enabled on their nationwide narrowband IoT network and form part of its single-provider offering,” said Patrick Qian, the Chief Executive Officer of Quectel Wireless Solutions. “The ability to supply Verizon customers with the module at a very cost-effective rate alongside connectivity plans from Verizon for $1 is transformative and will make a huge variety of IoT use cases possible for the first time. We’re proud to be playing our part, along with Verizon and Qualcomm Technologies, in helping IoT innovators build a smarter world.”

“Qualcomm Technologies is continuously optimizing and developing industry-leading technologies with high-performance, power-efficiency, and low-latency at the core. The Qualcomm® 212 LTE IoT modem – the world’s most power-efficient NB-IoT chipset – supports the creation of new, global smart IoT devices and applications, equipped with cutting-edge power efficiency and LTE connectivity capabilities. We are pleased to see that Quectel’s module – BC660K-GL – based on Qualcomm Technologies’ 212 LTE IoT modem has received this important validation by Verizon to support the proliferation of next generation, low-power global IoT devices,” said Jeffery Torrance, Senior Vice President, Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

Source: Verizon