From the course: NB-IoT (Narrowband IoT) Engineering: Deployment, Configuration, Call Flow Analysis

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Maximizing range: understanding maximum coupling loss (MCL)

Maximizing range: understanding maximum coupling loss (MCL)

From the course: NB-IoT (Narrowband IoT) Engineering: Deployment, Configuration, Call Flow Analysis

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Maximizing range: understanding maximum coupling loss (MCL)

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Have you ever been in a basement, a parking garage, and looked at the IoT wearables or devices to see that there is no signal? That frustrating problem is exactly what a special kind of cellular technology called NB-IoT is designed to solve. And it all comes down to a core concept known as Maximum Coupling Loss, or MCL. Think of it as a communication link's maximum budget for signal loss. It is not about power, it is about how much weakening of a signal a connection can tolerate and still work. Everything weakens a signal, like distance, walls, concrete, even being underground. A higher MCL number, measured in decibels, is better. It means the system can handle more loss and still get the message through. So NB-IT is defined by three incredible tiers of coverage, each with its own MCL budget. First, we have extended coverage at about 140 dB MCL. This is what you get from a traditional high-quality 4G network. It is great for the smartphones in most of the places, like in city or in a…

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