Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of online capable physical devices, vehicles, home appliances and many other items. An estimated 30 million objects would be connected to it globally by 2020 with global market value reaching $7.1 trillion. Narrowband networking of IoT is more effective, low- cost, long coverage and a promising technology for tomorrow. Announcing its active engagement in the Narrowband IoT Solution space, iTelaSoft has recently come up with one of its latest innovations, IoT Test Platform providing an invaluable tool for feasibility testing and deployment planning of IoT solutions for both Telcos and IoT implementers. Having helped one of the largest global Telcos to assess the readiness of their IoT platform for real-world demand, iTelaSoft is now ready to take up the Narrowband IoT challenges globally.

Explaining further, Mr. Chrishmal Fernando, Lead Engineer said, “Narrowband IoT solutions are still emerging, but there’s a significant interest in the market. Both in Europe and Americas, mobile network operators have been preparing for Narrowband services for the last few years. It’s fast spreading to the APAC region too! However, still there are so many gaps in the ecosystem with availability of the narrowband capability, message hub load handling, protocol compliance etc. This is where site tests, message tests, load simulation and power consumption monitoring come in handy. The IoT Test Platform we have developed, helps Telcos to evaluate the platform readiness and Solution Providers to plan device deployments. With a recent exercise we have done with a large global Telco, we helped them to simulate the load demand in their IoT platform, identifying potential bottlenecks in the messaging pipeline.”

Narrowband IoT is gaining attention across the world. Software Engineering Lead, Mr. Manoj Fernando added, “The ability to cover a large number of devices, wide & deep reception and low power consumption are compelling reasons why this technology is gaining rapid momentum. We have been building solutions in the IoT space using Wifi, Bluetooth and LoRA as the connectivity technology. Narrowband IoT adds a different value proposition in IoT solution building. We are talking about hundreds or thousands of sensors/actuators running autonomously for years. In those scenarios, device security, health monitoring, exception monitoring and governance have to be well thought-out and planned. A well-managed narrow band device management platform provides faster rollout, reliability, security and peace of mind for IoT solution builders. With our frameworks and services at iTelaSoft, we help both solution builders as well as Telcos”. Adding to that, Mr. Tharindu Hettiarachchi, General Manager of iTelaSoft mentioned, “Narrowband IoT has immense potential for many innovative applications. According to GSMA, both CAT-NB1 (NB IoT) and CAT-M1 (LTE-M) will be part of the 5G standard. I had the privilege of working in the iTelaSoft IoT team from the very beginning, and I’m proud to be involved with the innovative solutions we have built which positively impact our customers”.

“iTelaSoft has been working with IoT Devices and Solutions for the last few years. We are a passionate bunch of electronic and software engineers, taking pride in innovation and problem solving.”, said Indaka Raigama, CEO, iTelaSoft. “Over the last few years we created some interesting solutions combining our electronic, software product engineering and data science capabilities. One such solution was a performance monitoring and system monitoring platform for one of the largest mobile money providers in the world. We wanted to invest in building capability in Narrowband IoT technologies. I’m proud of what our team has done in this sector and helping our customers to deliver robust solutions. Our R&D centres are located in Sri Lanka and I’m very excited to see the progress made by the two key network operators, Dialog and Mobitel in Narrowband capability; which is way ahead in the region! I’m thankful for all their support and collaboration in our IoT journey.”