Nokia has been selected by French power utility EDF's R&D unit to test the performance of LPWA wireless networking technologies - key emerging standards for Internet of Things (IoT) device connectivity - to support critical operations for industries.
The two companies will engage in a comprehensive testing regime, among the first of its kind in the industry, exploring the capabilities of LPWA technologies to support real-world industrial applications. Nokia is EDF R&D's exclusive partner for this effort.
EDF R&D will utilize Nokia TestHub Services in Nokia's Device Testing Lab in France - which gives customers access to state-of-the-art, carrier-grade wireless infrastructure - when testing IoT/M2M objects, chipsets, modules and user devices across all wireless technologies and frequencies. This enables devices to be tested on real network infrastructure rather than a simulated network, which reduces guesswork in testing and analysis and minimizes risks in advance of widespread commercial introduction.
The testing will compare IoT technologies recently standardized by the 3GPP - including NarrowBand-IoT (NB-IoT) and LTE-Machine (LTE-M) (also known as enhanced Machine-Type Communications or eMTC) - with other emerging, largely unlicensed IoT technologies.
Stephane Tanguy, Head of IT Systems, EDF R&D
Many use cases can be enabled by IoT technologies in various businesses from power generation to marketing. As the R&D engine of the EDF Group, it is our responsibility to characterize the objects, their connectivity, their integration into IoT platforms and the related end-to end cybersecurity properties.
Matthieu Bourguignon, Head of Global Enterprise and Public Sector, Europe, Nokia
The use of IoT devices in industrial networks is in its infancy, but given the expected huge numbers of devices that will be deployed in the future, it is critical that our customers can evaluate now the various technologies before making substantial investments.
