TelecomTV TelecomTV
  • News
  • Videos
  • Channels
  • Events
  • Directory
  • Smart Studio
  • Surveys
  • Debates
  • Perspectives
  • DSP Leaders World Forum
  • DSP Summits
  • Great Telco Debate
    • |
    • Follow
    • |
    • Subscribe
  • |
  • More
  • Webcasts
  • Surveys
  • Debates
  • Perspectives
  • Great Telco Debate
  • |
  • Follow TelecomTV
  • |
    • Subscribe
    • |
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Follow TelecomTV
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Sign In Register Subscribe
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
    • Register
  • Search

Internet of Things

Internet of Things

Deutsche Telekom won’t let it bee: uses NB-IoT to monitor beehive populations

Guy Daniels
By Guy Daniels

Mar 21, 2017

© CeBIT

© CeBIT

  • Germany’s Chancellor Merkel gets up a close-up look at NB-IoT
  • NB-IoT network used to connect data from hives to beekeepers smartphones
  • Solution to help identify effects of Colony Collapse Disorder
  • After all, the beehive is one the world's smallest industrial plants…

Also at CeBIT this week, Deutsche Telekom is adding to the IoT noise, which is quite understandable as it is the host telco after all. Its latest announcement concerns how narrowband NB-IoT is being used to help solve the mystery of bee mortality.

Okay, so there is a degree of debate around so-called “Colony Collapse Disorder” and whether or not it is influenced by the use of synthetic pesticides, or if it’s simply a trend that has been going on for centuries – but the weight of evidence suggests these pesticides are a contributing factor at the very least. What is in no doubt, though, is that there is a recognised fragility of bee populations in general.

Thankfully, IoT is once again at hand to help with all our monitoring and data analytic needs. Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel got to see for herself how NB-IoT can help, with a one-on-one demonstration from Deutsche Telekom CEO Timotheus Höttges.

Using the telco’s NB-IoT network in Germany, data collected by intelligent sensors is transmitted directly from the beehive to the beekeeper. This data includes temperature, air humidity, air pressure, beehive weight (an indication as to how full the combs are) and activity of the bees. The beekeeper can then use their smartphone or tablet app to check on the heath of their bees.

Okay, so this is a pretty niche application of IoT, but then again, isn’t that what IoT is all about? Pushing the analogy somewhat, Deutsche Telekom says that a beehive is really the world's smallest industrial plant with 40,000 workers on half a square meter. Okay… As with full-size Industrie 4.0 applications, the beehive demo shows how sensors and NB-IoT continually monitor and provide timely assistance before a bee colony is damaged.

It may be niche but bee mortality is no joke. According to figures from the German Beekeepers' Association, the number of bee colonies has fallen in Germany alone from 2.5 million in 1952 to less than one million today. Worldwide there are an estimated 20,000 different species of bee, yet only nine species produce honey. By far the most important contribution of the honeybee to modern agriculture is their role as pollinators. The global value of the pollination by insects was estimated at €153 billion. The Montpellier Laboratory for Theoretical and Applied Economics in France calculates that the pollination provided by bees creates a total added value to the global economy of €200 billion each year.

The beehive demo might be simplistic, but it’s already gaining a lot of wider media attention. Who said IoT had to be difficult?

Related Topics
  • Analysis & Opinion,
  • Deutsche Telekom,
  • Europe,
  • Internet of Things,
  • News,
  • Telco & CSP

More Like This

Digital Platforms & Services

Satellite backhaul will be worth $25 billion by 2030

Apr 12, 2021

Access Evolution

HomeGrid Forum advances G.hn for industrial applications

Apr 12, 2021

Digital Platforms & Services

What Covid did: accelerated digital healthcare

Apr 6, 2021

Access Evolution

Nokia expands Mobily partnership with enterprise IoT network in Saudi Arabia

Mar 30, 2021

Access Evolution

TIM builds bundles for business, backs tech startup fund

Mar 30, 2021

Email Newsletters

Stay up to date with the latest industry developments: sign up to receive TelecomTV's top news and videos plus exclusive subscriber-only content direct to your inbox – including our daily news briefing and weekly wrap.

Subscribe

Top Picks

Highlights of our content from across TelecomTV today

22:09

How BSS is evolving to support 5G

40:04

How can DSPs accelerate speed to market for new services?

24:04

Supporting the evolution of service provision at BT

41:32

Edge as a driver of new service revenues

  • TelecomTV
  • Decisive Media

TelecomTV is produced by the team at Decisive Media

Menu
  • News
  • Videos
  • Channels
  • Directory
  • Smart Studio
 
  • Surveys
  • Debates
  • Perspectives
  • Events
  • About Us
Our Brands
  • TelecomTV Tracker
  • TelecomTV Perspectives
  • DSP Summits
  • DSP Leaders World Forum
  • The Great Telco Debate
Get In Touch
info@telecomtv.com
+44 (0) 207 448 1070

Request a Media Pack

Follow
  • © Decisive Media Limited 2021. All rights reserved. All brands and products are the trademarks of their respective holder(s).
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Legal Notices