Wuxi became the first city in China to be covered by a NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet of Things) network in May.

China Telecom has built nearly 2,000 base stations with a total investment of 200 million yuan over the past five months, covering 4,628 square kilometers to assist Wuxi in building China’s first and largest city-wide commercial NB-IoT network. 

NB-IoT technology has the advantages of a low cost, wide coverage, long battery life and enables a large amount of connected devices. The technology is believed to have great potential in future applications across many fields. 

Wuxi’s LittleSwan, China's leading washing machine producer, has developed an intelligent washing machine, which can be remote operated. With the application of NB-IoT, the network rate of the washing machine rose from 15 percent to 90 percent, increasing network usage and consumer experience. 

Wuxi is China's first and only national innovation demonstration zone for the IoT industry. It has served 1,267 companies, with annual revenues of 204.5 billion yuan ($30.38 billion), promoting the "Made in China 2025" initiative, construction of smart cities and intelligent manufacturing.