Migrating away from 2G/3G to LTE
Cellular carriers continue to move their networks away from 2G/3G to LTE to pack more calls, data on the same spectrum. However, the majority of M2M and IoT customers need
- Typically lower data throughput on LTE
- Network longevity with 3 to 5 years field life
- Deploy 10s to 1000s of devices
- Coverage to their customers
Before we jump service and hardware selection, consider the following questions for your application.
How much throughput in upload and download do I need?
| Comparing throughput of LTE IOT Standards | |||
| Category 1 LTE | Category M1 LTE | Category M2/NB-IOT LTE | |
| Number of Antennas | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Half or Full Duplex | Full | Full | Half |
| Power Consumption | High | Low | Low |
| USA Carrier Support | All USA, Canada | Verizon, AT&T, Telus, others | T-Mobile in 2019 |
| Upload Speed | 5 Mbps | 375 Kbps | 250 kbps (multi-tone) |
| LTE Coverage becoming less of an Issue | ||||
| |
Category 1 LTE | Category M1 LTE | Category M2/NB-IOT LTE | Plans Availability |
| Verizon | Deployed | Live | 2019 | Yes |
| AT&T | Deployed | Launch Q1/2018 | 2019 | Yes |
| T-Mobile | Deployed | Late 2018/2019 | 2018 | Yes |
| Canada | Deployed – all carriers | Telus | 2018 | Yes |
| Category 1 LTE | Category M1 LTE | Category M2/NB-IOT LTE | Comment | |
|
Embedded Modem (N America) |
|
|
End Certified, No recertification |
|
| Embedded Modem (Europe) |
N/A |
Releasing Q2/2018 |
Releasing Q1/2018 |
End Certified, No recertification |
| Embedded Module |
|
|
Low cost |
|
| External Modem |
|
Releasing Q1/2018 |
||
| External Router |
|
Releasing Q1/2018 |
Increasing Device Options with a Trend to Reduced Cost, Power Consumption
Most of the devices mentioned are in sample status or in production. Please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 510-687-1000 x 208 for further discussion on your needs.