5G • Services
Ambient IoT
Zero-Power Passive IoT
Ultra-low-cost IoT technology operating entirely on harvested RF, solar, or thermal energy without batteries.
Technical Explanation
Standardized in 3GPP Rel-18 and Rel-19, Ambient IoT provides cellular communication for battery-less tags costing pennies. Devices harvest ambient RF energy from gNodeBs and communicate via backscatter modulation, enabling inventory tracking across billions of retail and supply chain items.
Key Functions
- Battery-less cellular tracking devices costing fractions of a cent
- Harvests operating energy from ambient electromagnetic radio waves
- Communicates via RF backscatter modulation, targeting trillions of tagged items
Specifications
3GPP TR 38.848
Interfaces
Uu
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