(PM) Germany, 29.05.2017 - Narrow band-IoT (NB-IoT) is a low-power wide area network radio technology created for the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) world. The new Comprion NB-IoT USIM Test Bench will soon become mandatory for qualifying NB-IoT devices according to the Global Certification Forum (GCF). “We are pleased to be the first test equipment vendor offering a validated NB-IoT USIM conformance test solution”, explains Abdul Majid Malik, Head of Comprion SIMfony Test Solutions. Jürgen Fischer, the responsible Lead Technical Advisor adds: “It ensures that IoT and M2M devices equipped with NB-IoT modules adhere to 3GPP standards avoiding any interoperability surprises.”

NB-IoT shall connect a wide range of devices and services in the IoT context by making use of low energy and a high radio range. “The technology is designed for application fields where conventional M2M channels such as mobile networks, DSL, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth are unprofitable and for sites where the mobile network signals are too weak (for example, for transmitting smart metering data from cellars)”, explicates Fischer. As NB-IoT bases on 3GPP standards, it uses currently unused frequencies of existing mobile networks in a narrow band that guarantees efficiency, stability, reliability, and future security.

The new tests for NB-IoT terminals are now part of the test specification 3GPP TS 31.121 Rel-13 Version 13.6.0, which became part of the new GCF Work Item 266. USIM/USAT conformance testing is as essential for proper operation in the 3GPP NB-IoT network as it is for the LTE network. The test bench is useful for everyone intending to accurately evaluate the required specification conformity – be it chip and chipset manufacturers, terminal and M2M module vendors, mobile network operators, network infrastructure providers, test houses, test service providers, or UICC and card vendors.

The new test bench is immediately available. It can be run on the Comprion SIMfony test solution with either the conformance tester UT³ Platform or the pre-conformance tester Prove 2 in combination with the R&S CMW500 network simulator.