Behold, ye unworthy, the brave new NB-IoT logo

Logowatch Progress on deploying the NB-IoT connectivity tech may have stalled but the GSM Association doesn’t want you worrying your little head about that. Instead, take a look at the shiny new logo they’ve come up with for NB-IoT!

The new, distractingly asymmetrical logo, will, according to the GSMA’s own blurb, give firms flogging NB-IoT-related gear the “opportunity to illustrate the authenticity of their products.”

Jens Olejak of Deutsche Telekom was approvingly quoted by the GSMA as saying: “The introduction of an official NB-IoT logo represents a major milestone on the journey to establish NB-IoT as the leading transmission standard for small but massive IoT applications,” going on to burble something about the “determination of the Mobile IoT community.”

Vodafone’s head R&D honcho, Luke Ibbetson, chipped in to tell us that this brave, visionary, inspiring graphic [is this right? - Ed] would “further unite the rapidly growing ecosystem of NB-IoT devices and applications in a highly visible way.”

Which is a hifalutin’ way of saying “you can put this on the boxes you ship your products in.”

Wherefore art this epoch-changing logo, then?

The NB-IoT logo. Also available in black and reverse white-on-black

The logo itself suggests a radioactive football, something that really comes across well when depicted in green, and the use of bold on the NB part (it stands for Narrowband) really makes it stand out. Why do this? Gawd knows.

Olejak was last seen warning Deutsche Telekom’s customers that NB-IoT doesn’t necessarily do everything they want it to do (read: have been led to believe by the marketing hype). While telcos are still publicly committed to the tech, many operators are looking at adopting a multitude of low-powered wireless area network (LPWAN) connectivity standards, chiefly because there doesn’t appear to be a straightforward (and profitable) one-size-does-all option. ®