The subject of the diploma thesis are procedures in EPS network related to the operation of mobile terminals. In the introduction of my work I described the EPS system, including the quality of services and bearers. The following section focuses on control procedures in the EPS system such as attach network procedure, detach procedure, service request, handover or tracking area procedure. Further, three technologies for Internet of Things were described, namely EC-GSM-IoT, LTE-M and NB-IoT. All the procedures mentioned above were also captured in the experimental VUT EPS network and analyzed by TravelHawk using software M5 and Wireshark. Theoretical and practical findings were subsequently used out for setting of laboratory task for subject MKPM.

Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT) has emerged as a promising technology to support applications that generate infrequent data. One requirement on these applications, often battery-powered devices, is low energy consumption to enable extended battery life. Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) is a promising technology for IoT due to its low power consumption, which is essential for devices that need to run on battery power for extended periods. However, the current battery life of NB-IoT devices is only a few years, which is insufficient for many applications. This thesis investigates the impact of energy-saving mechanisms standardized by 3GPP on battery life of NB-IoT devices. The main research objective is to classify and analyze existing energy-saving solutions for CIoT and examine their limitations, to study the impact of standardized energy-saving mechanisms on the battery life of NB-IoT devices, both in isolation and combined, and to provide guidelines on how to configure NB-IoT devices to reduce energy consumption efficiently. The research aims to provide a deeper understanding of the effect of energy-saving mechanisms and best practices to balance energy efficiency and performance of NB-IoT devices. Applying the proposed solutions makes it possible to achieve a battery life of 10~years or more for CIoT devices.

In the Internet of things (IoT), many applications will require low-power and low-cost to achieve long lifetime and scale (respectively). These types of applications are referred to as massive IoT, as opposed to critical IoT, which emphasizes ultra-high reliability and availability and low latency. One type of network catering to massive IoT applications are Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs), and presently, many LPWAN standards are trying to assert their role in the IoT ecosystem. This thesis explores LPWANs from both technical and non-technical perspectives to ascertain their use-case versatility and influence on the future telecommunications’ landscape. With respect to spectrum, the studied LPWANs may be categorized as unlicensed LPWAN or licensed LPWAN. The prior category typically refers to proprietary solutions and in this thesis are represented by SigFox and LoRaWAN. The latter group includes EC-GSM-IoT, eMTC, and NB-IoT and can be considered synonymous with cellular LPWAN because they are designed to be integrated into existing cellular infrastructures. The results indicate that all of the different types of explored LPWANs support applications without strict downlink, payload size, and latency requirements. For use cases without these specific demands (typically sensors, meters, tracking, etc.), it is not a question of whether or not a network fulfills the requirements, but rather how flexible the requirements are. As a result the choice of network will be determined by non-technical aspects and a cost versus functionality trade-off where unlicensed LPWAN is typically cheaper. Hence, both categories of LPWANs offer a unique value proposition; therefore, they can be considered complementary. This notion is reinforced when looking at non-technical aspects such as ecosystem, regulation, network ownership and control, and network coordination, which differ quite significantly. Furthermore, unlicensed LPWANs are likely to be the vanguard of a new type of competitor offering the core service of connectivity. / Inom Internet of Things (IoT) kommer många applikationer att kräva låg effekt och låg kostnad för att uppnå en lång livstid och skala. Dessa typer av applikationer refereras till som massiv IoT, vilket står i motsats till kritisk IoT som kräver ultrahög tillförlitlighet och tillgänglighet och låg fördröjning. En typ av nätverk som ämnar tillgodose kraven av massiv IoT är Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs), och idag försöker många av dessa hävda sig inom IoT ekosystemet. Detta examensarbete undersöker LPWANs from ett teknisk och icke-tekniskt perspektiv för att utröna deras mångsidighet och påverkan på det framtida telekomlandskapet. Med avseende på spektrum kan de i detta examensarbete undersökta nätverken kategoriseras som olicensierat LPWAN eller licensierat LPWAN. Den tidigare hänvisar typiskt till proprietära lösningar och representeras i detta arbete av SigFox och LoRaWAN. Den senare kategorin består av EC-GSM-IoT, eMTC, och NB-IoT och kan betraktas som synonymt med mobil LPWAN eftersom de designade för att bli integrerade i existerande mobila nätverk. Resultaten indikerar att alla nätverk stödjer applikationer utan strikta krav när det gäller nedlänkens funktionalitet, mängden data per meddelande, och fördröjning. För applikationer utan dessa specifika krav (typiskt sensorer, mätare, spårning, etc.) är det inte en fråga om huruvida ett nätverk uppfyller kraven eller ej, utan snarare hur flexibla kraven är. Därför kommer valet av nätverk att bestämmas av icke-tekniska aspekter och en avvägning mellan kostnad och funktionalitet vari olicensierat LPWAN är vanligtvis billigare. Därmed erbjuder båda kategorier av nätverk en unik värde proposition och kan därför betraktas som komplementerande. Denna föreställning är förstärkt av att nätverken skiljer sig signifikant när det gäller deras icke-tekniska aspekter såsom ekosystem, reglering, ägandeskap och kontroll, och nätverks koordinering. Dessutom är olicensierade LPWANs troligen är förtruppen av en ny typ av konkurrent som erbjuder den grundläggande servicen av konnektivitet.