Huawei signs MoU with Toshiba to Collaborate on NB-IoT for “Smart Factory”
[Hannover, Germany, April 26, 2017] At the 2017 Hannover MESSE, Huawei has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Toshiba to collaborate on the integration of NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) for the development of “Smart Factory” solutions. The cooperation between Huawei and Toshiba will accelerate the commercial availability of NB-IoT in a diverse range of vertical industries, supporting a range of applications and deployment scenarios as operators are looking ahead towards new business opportunities in vertical industries.
As agreed upon for this collaboration, both companies will work together to develop enhanced wireless product life cycle management solutions based on NB-IoT communication technology applied to real-world manufacturing scenarios. As a first step, Huawei will work closely with Toshiba by providing the communications technology expertise and help facilitate the integration of NB-IoT technology within Toshiba’s current IoT gateway, with initial testing scheduled to be performed in Huawei’s NB-IoT Open Lab located in Shanghai. The next phase will see actual live field tests being performed with expectations from both companies to develop a suite of “Smart Factory” solutions based on NB-IoT technology ready for global commercialization.
With the number of connections in “Smart” factories possibly reaching 100 million by 2020, the integration of NB-IoT within the “Smart Factory” will greatly enhance the data collection ability over wider areas in factories worldwide using cellular network connectivity, further improving management efficiency of the manufacturing process, and the ability to enhance product lifecycle management.
Commenting on this partnership, Mr. Edward Deng, President of Huawei Wireless Solution, said: "Huawei’s NB-IoT E2E solution is ready. With mainstream operators having already started the commercial deployment of NB-IoT networks, the current number of NB-IoT deployments has reached 30 worldwide, with more soon to follow. NB-IoT has received a great deal of attention particularly from vertical industries since its initial deployments, and has already been applied successfully in roughly 20 different industry categories. The cooperation between Huawei and Toshiba represents that the first NB-IoT application of its kind in the Smart Factory space. With combined efforts from our two companies, it will bring establish a win-win benefit to both the telecommunication and manufacturing industries.”
Mr. Shigeyoshi Shimotsuji, Corporate Vice President of Toshiba Corporation and Executive Vice President of Toshiba Industrial ICT Solutions Company, said: "The cooperation with Huawei is a welcome step for Toshiba, as we continue to evolve our product offerings. NB-IoT delivers clear advantages in coverage, security and efficient power consumption, and will serve to improve efficiencies and make factories around the world “Smart”. The collaboration will allow us to further enhance SPINEX, our IoT architecture, and will contribute to our ongoing revenue growth strategy. Toshiba is actively seeking new opportunities for growth in a variety of industries. With billions of potential connections soon to be realized by the increasing ubiquity of IoT, working with Huawei and its NB-IoT solution will help us gain a sizable portion of the global LPWA market."
NB-IoT is a licensed 3GPP standard capable of satisfying a wide range of LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) use cases, while satisfying key customer requirements for wider coverage, long battery life and reliable security. It has become a proven strategy for several of the world’s mobile network operators and represents a huge market opportunity with the increasing scalability of IoT.
As the leading solutions provider in the telecommunications industry, Huawei has end-to-end mobile broadband network products and solutions. Cellular IoT is rapidly being touted as the main solution to help operators expand their business into new markets and industries by enabling billions of connections around the world. With over 30 networks deployed in over 20 countries by 2017, Huawei’s NB-IoT ecosystem is developing rapidly and will scale up commercialization in 2017.
Toshiba Corporation is a globally diversified solutions provider. The company’s business domains include Social Infrastructure, Energy, Electronic Devices & Components and ICT solutions, where wide ranging capabilities include human resources and payroll systems and logistics services.
