NB-Fi Mathematical Modeling and Optimization

The Internet of Things (IoT) is constantly evolving and quickly gaining popularity. A feature of some IoT devices is low power consumption while using long-range communication, which can be provided by low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs). One of these relatively new LPWAN technologies, NB-Fi (Narrow Band Fidelity), is being actively deployed in many countries mostly for telemetry applications. Moreover, NB-Fi has been accepted as the first Russian GOST on LPWAN technologies. Despite the growing popularity, many key features and performance limitations of the technology remain unexplored.

WNL has performed a deep study of the NB-Fi protocol, identified its strengths and weaknesses compared to existing popular LPWAN technologies, and developed new mathematical modeling approaches to describe NB-Fi networks. These models were used to propose algorithms to configure data rates and operation modes in NB-Fi networks to provide reliable and energy-efficient communications.