Other operators could follow AT&T in shutting down NB-IoT, but the technology is not obsolete yet

Reports emerged in November 2024 that AT&T plans to shut down its NB-IoT network in 2025 and transition its NB-IoT customers over to its LTE-M network.

The announcement is not a surprise because NB-IoT has not been widely adopted in the USA. It may encourage other operators outside of the USA that currently support both NB-IoT and LTE-M networks to consider shutting one of them down. Indeed, we expect that operators in some countries will do so, but NB-IoT will persist elsewhere, especially in countries where it has already been adopted for smart metering.