Abstract: The technical status of cellular Internet of Things (C-IoT) was discussed. Two C-IoT deployment schemes were proposed in terms of enhanced machine-type communication and narrowband IoT technical standards, which can be readily deployed in the current commercial networks. And an evolutionary roadmap to the fifth generation of mobile communications system (5G) for C-IoT was further proposed. The roadmap fully took into account the key enabling technologies, such as the network function virtualization, the software defined network, the mobile edge computing and the big data analytics, as well as security risks introduced by 5G. The technology challenges and potential solutions were analyzed in detail, and it was shown that 5G C-IoT can significantly enhance C-IoT's service capability.

Key words: cellular internet of things, network function virtualization, software defined network, mobile edge computing, big data analytics