KT, South Korea-based telecom company, announced last week (on the 20th) that it has successfully demonstrated various Internet of Small Things (IoST) services that are based on Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT) technology over its commercial LTE network in cooperation with Daejeon metropolitan city, Nokia, Kolon Industry, Intel, etc.
 
KT teamed up with Kolon Sports, the outdoor apparel brand affiliated with Kolon Industry, to develop an IoT Safety Jacket featuring an NB-IoT communication module made by Intel. Through the invention, the two proved IoST services can be offered at low power and low costs even in areas with weak signals like hiking trails and in emergency.  
 

NB-IoT is a standard telecommunication technology that uses the narrow bandwidth of 200 kHz, but covers a wide area of more than 10 kilometers at very low transmission speed. Since the standardization in June, it has been positioned as a low-power, low-cost IoST technology specifically intended for transmission of small amount of data.
 
The IoT Safety jacket presented at the demonstration is designed to sense unusual movement of persons in danger or distress, and automatically send signals to rescue teams.
 
In case of distress, rescue messages are issued by the NB-IoT communication module and sent to rescue team along with information about the conditions and location of the person in distress through interworking between the company’s commercial LTE network and IoT platform named ‘IoTMakers’. LEDs and acoustic sensors embedded in the jacket enable rescuers to find the location of the person in distress faster day or night.
 
Also, a prototype IoT Smart Tent with built-in sensors that automatically sends out alerts in case of fire in the tent to was presented.
 
Previously in August, KT, along with Nokia, demonstrated interworking of base stations and NB-IoT core equipment in its commercial LTE network. Now with the latest successful demonstration of Intel's NB-IoT module and Kolon's outdoor activity products, the company has become well-poised to provide diverse IoT services through its LTE network.
 
KT said it is to cooperate with Daejeon Metropolitan City for public IoT services based on NB-IoT technology, introducing a variety of IoST services for consumers (like safety service) and for enterprises (like asset management, smart factory) over time.
 
Hyung-Wook Kim, the Executive Vice President, Platform Business Planning Office at KT, said “This world’s first NB-IoT service demonstration has proved not only its technological values but also the business values it can create.” “We will take the lead in global efforts to expand the emerging IoST market and develop innovative services by expediting the deployment of a nationwide NB-IoT network and cooperating with more than 500 partners in the GiGA IoT Alliance.
 
Daejeon Metropolitan City shared its plan saying "Daejeon City will continue to stay cooperative with KT for expansion of IoT services to smart city and environmental-related projects."
 
Andrew Cope, the Head of Korea at Nokia, noted “The latest demonstration was an important milestone in our partnership with KT. We will make further efforts to prove the potential of NB-IoT in achieving goals like improving public safety and presenting new IoST services.”