AuthorsM. T. Abbas, J. Eklund, A. Brunström, S. Alfredsson, M. Rajiullah, K. Grinnemo, G. Caso, K. Kousias and Ö. Alay
TitleOn the Energy‐efficient Use of Discontinuous Reception and Release Assistance in NB‐IoT
AfilliationCommunication Systems
Project(s)No Simula project
StatusPublished
Publication TypeProceedings, refereed
Year of Publication2022
Conference NameThe IEEE 8th World Forum on Internet of Things (IEEE WFIoT) 2022
PublisherIEEE Communications Society
Abstract

Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT) is a Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) technology. It aims for cheap, low-complexity IoT devices that enable large-scale deployments and wide-area coverage. Moreover, to make large-scale deployments of CIoT devices in remote and hard-to-access locations possible, a long device battery life is one of the main objectives of these devices. To this end, 3GPP has defined several energy-saving mechanisms for CIoT technologies, not least for the Narrow-Band Internet of Things~(NB-IoT) technology, one of the major CIoT technologies. Examples of mechanisms defined include CONNECTED-mode DRX (cDRX), Release Assistance Indicator (RAI), and Power Saving Mode (PSM). This paper considers the impact of the essential energy-saving mechanisms on minimizing the energy consumption of NB-IoT devices, especially the cDRX and RAI mechanisms. The paper uses a purpose-built NB-IoT simulator that has been tested in terms of its built-in energy-saving mechanisms and validated with real-world NB-IoT measurements. The simulated results show that it is possible to save 70\%-90\% in energy consumption by enabling the cDRX and RAI. In fact, the results suggest that battery life of 10\,years is only achievable provided the cDRX, RAI, and PSM energy-saving mechanisms are correctly configured and used.

Citation Key42700