Extended coverage GSM IoT (EC-GSM-IoT) is a low power wide area technology that has been standardised by 3GPP for use in licensed spectrum. Based on eGPRS, EC-GSM-IoT is designed as a high capacity, long range, low energy and low complexity cellular system to support the IoT. EC-GSM-IoT can be deployed via a software upgrade to existing GSM networks, thereby ensuring widespread coverage and accelerated time to-market. EC-GSM-IoT-connected devices can have a battery life of up to 10 years across a wide range use cases.
The EC-GSM-IoT network trials are underway, with the first commercial launches planned for 2018. Orange, for example, is piloting EC-GSM-IoT to connect sensors that can measure environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity and air pollution. It plans to use the technology, which can be overlaid on top of 2G networks, to support smart agriculture solutions in emerging markets.
Supported by most major mobile equipment, chip set and module manufacturers, EC-GSM-IoT networks will co-exist with conventional cellular networks. It will also benefit from all the security and privacy mobile network features, such as support for user identity confidentiality, entity authentication, data integrity, and mobile equipment identification.
Discover more about how EC-GSM-IoT is being used for the industrial sector