## 4 IoT Deployment Opportunities in Developing Countries
### Leveraging Cellular Networks for IoT Deployments in Nigeria  
The mobile network operators (MNOs) in Nigeria, as presented in Table 1, fall within the ITU Region 1 deployment bands [33]. All the deployment bands can support either NB-IoT or LTE-M-based IoT networks, except time division duplex (TDD) bands, such as band 42. Following the national approach of allocating spectrum to the MNOs, NB-IoT and LTE-M is set to thrive if roaming agreements and infrastructure sharing exist between MNOs. This presents a massive deployment opportunity for LTE-based IoT technologies in the in-band and guard-band modes in Nigeria (see Figure 2), as also identified for India's NB-IoT deployment towards smart city applications in the rural villages, suburban hubs, and urban capitals [34]. The spectrum will be repurposed to support new and more efficient services.  
In the Nigerian Communications Commission's (NCC) frequency assignment tables, bands 3 and 8 are predominantly used for GSM while band 1 is used for GSM, 3G, and LTE [35]. Band 3 is the largest spectrum used for LTE deployment globally due to its large coverage and the ability of its services to be refarmed into band 1 with a robust option of carrier aggregation configuration for different bandwidths. On the other hand, 900 MHz is generally used for 2G, GSM, and data communications supporting broadband deployment and could have huge potential for IoT deployment. Depending on the deployment mode to be adopted by MNOs to support NB-IoT and LTE-M technologies, the possible impact on their networks would be the upgrade of baseband units, antenna systems, and eNB software and their introduction of new RF modules. The main technical challenge of NB-IoT penetration in developing countries such as Nigeria, as presented by [PERSON] et al., is the sole reliance on broadband connectivity which stood at 50% in 2019 [26]. However, we envisaged that power supply, MNO business scenarios, security, policy standardisation, privacy, interoperability, and the cost of acquiring IoT devices are potential challenges that could be turned into opportunities. Other network infrastructures to be mentioned  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Operators** & **Bands** & **Channel Bandwidth** \\ \hline
9 Mobile & B1 (2100 MHz) & \\  & B3 (1800 MHz) & 10 \\ Airtel & B1 (2100 MHz) & \\  & B3 (1800 MHz) & 5 \\ MNT & B1 (2100 MHz) & \\  & (1800 MHz) & 15 \\  & B20 (800 MHz) & 10 \\  & B42 (3500 MHz) & 10, 20 \\ VDT & B40 (2300 MHz) & 10, 20 \\ ntel & B3 (1800 MHz) & 15 \\  & B8 (900 MHz) & 5 \\ Glo & B1 (2100 MHz) & \\  & 28 (700 MHz) & 10 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 1: Overview of MNOs in Nigeria with NB-IoT and LTE-M bands deployment opportunities.  
Figure 2: Typical LTE network distribution in urban areas in Nigeria. NB-IoT deployment leverages LTE infrastructure, which is mainly clustered within urban areas. The dots represent different sectors of two co-located 1800 MHz and 900 MHz sites. Red—the current number of users exceeds the expected number of users per cell; purple—the maximum number of users is reached; green—the number of users is within the range; blue—the number of users on the cell is low.  
as among the common factors globally affecting IoT development include the provision of base stations for the extension of coverage to rural areas without an exponential rise in capital expenditure (CapEx) and operational expenditure (OpEx). Where practicable, the use of band 20 and band 8 for LTE-M and NB-IoT is recommended if indoor and outdoor penetration is desirable at the same time, but at a trade-off compared with band 3 in that each operator has less spectrum range. With band 20 and band 3 making 30 MHz and 75 MHz available, respectively, carrier aggregation will be needed to support non-NB-IoT users. IoT services will have lower performance/throughput on B20, but better range, meaning more users are served but with poorer connections.