Ericsson has outlined its vision for cellular IoT based on four segments, progressing from basic use cases like asset tracking, to increasingly complex applications like autonomous vehicles.

The Swedish telecom equipment giant said the incremental approach will make it easier for service providers to align cellular IoT capabilities with current applications and those further down the line across various verticals by enhancing LTE networks as they ready for 5G.

The four market segments include the new additions of Broadband IoT and Industrial Automation IoT, which join Critical IoT and Massive IoT.

Massive IoT can support use cases like asset tracking and smart metering, while Broadband IoT is capable of higher data rates and lower latencies, needed to support in-car infotainment systems, AR/VR, drones and advanced wearables, for example. 

Ericsson announced the launch of new products for Broadband IoT, including drone detection and link control, RAN slicing, Advanced Subscriber Group Handling, and multi-gigabit LTE for 2 Gbps data throughput and about 10 millisecond latency.

The vendor said it’s also enhancing Massive IoT capabilities, including the NB-IoT Extended Cell Range. This increases the standards-based limit by about 60 km to reach 100 km. This could be particularly useful in rural and remote areas, and applied to logistics, agriculture and environment monitoring, according to Ericsson.

Following Broadband IoT, Ericsson’s vision moves to Critical IoT, and then Industrial Automation IoT, which requires stringent connectivity and will support use-cases in manufacturing like collaborative robotics.

“Cellular IoT is moving from early adoption with Massive IoT to global rollout,” Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks, Ericsson, said in a statement. “We are now describing ‘what’s next?’ for our customers and how they can make the most out of their 4G and 5G investments on the same network and address more advanced IoT use cases across industries.”