What is driving traffic for Narrowband IoT trackers?

Narrowband IoT trackers are getting a lot of global search interest because they’re low-power, cost-effective, and work well for long-range applications where traditional GPS or cellular tracking might not fit or be too expensive. Our technical lead believes that NB-IoT networking is very robust and effective. The search queries back him up.

Some of the applications…

Farming: Farmers need to monitor cattle, sheep, or even camels in remote areas. GPS is too power-hungry, and Bluetooth has range issues. Australian ranchers use NB-IoT tags to track cattle over thousands of acres, reducing losses and theft. Vineyards use NB-IoT to track soil conditions, optimizing irrigation and improving grape yield.

Logistics: Perishable goods need temperature-controlled transport. Low-cost tags monitor location, humidity, and temperature in real-time. Alerts trigger if conditions exceed safe thresholds. Passive NB-IoT tags work in metal-heavy environments like rail cars and shipping containers. Long battery life makes tracking practical.

Micro mobility: Rental E-bikes, scooters, and small EVs need tracking, but GPS drains battery fast. Low-power tracking lets fleet operators monitor vehicle locations and battery levels while keeping hardware simple and affordable. Some European cities now require NB-IoT based tracking for shared e-scooters to prevent clutter and theft.

Waste Management: Cities need to know when dumpsters and bins are full to optimize collection routes (especially in the construction sector in sites where space is limited). Bin-mounted sensors send fill level updates, reducing unnecessary pickups and lowering fuel costs. Cheap, battery-powered sensors report data over long distances allowing better routing and more accurate load management.

Asset Management: High-value items (bikes, generators, construction site tools and vehicles) often go missing. Some high-end power tools now come with built-in NB-IoT tracking for anti-theft.

The primary value is in the functionality and scaling ability of Narrowband IoT. The technology has excellent properties for range and long life uses. Low cost is a winner for scale. This is the reason searches for NB-IoT are increasing globally, especially in regions you might not think of as “high tech” hotspots.

Information courtesy of Google Trends

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