By Dana Cohen, Product Marketing Manager at Sony
Semiconductor Israel
Connectivity has been a gamechanger in the
asset tracking landscape. Personal devices, pets, vehicles, international
packages, or any kind of asset can all easily be tracked through the cloud.
This has opened the door to innovative use cases that have transformed global
shipping, automotive loans, retail management, construction, and other
industries.
Using asset trackers allows shippers to track
the temperature and condition of products and raw materials as they move on
ships, planes, and trucks through the supply chain. Families have a better
chance at recovering beloved pets that are lost. Even banks are more willing to
approve high-risk car loans, knowing that they can locate and recover a vehicle
if its owner falls behind on payments.
While there is some debate as to the best
connectivity technology to integrate into the tracker, the benefits introduced
by LPWA (low-power wide-area) has placed it as the frontrunner. LPWA
technologies are optimized for low-power, long-range communications, making
them ideal for tracking applications with extended battery life and broad
coverage requirements.
LTE-M, a form of LPWA technology, has
demonstrated its value in terms of cost, coverage, power consumption, and
longevity. It offers a number of benefits over other cellular solutions, such
as cat 1bis. This article will focus on the coverage and hardware advantages
offered by LTE-M.
What is LTE-M Connectivity?
Long-Term Evolution for Machines, better known
as LTE-M, is a versatile connectivity solution that extends the capabilities of
LTE networks to support IoT applications. LTE-M offers superior coverage,
better signal penetration, improved power efficiency, and other benefits, all
of which support its case as the most effective connectivity solution for asset
trackers.
LTE-M is governed by standards set by 3GPP. As
a result, it is included in 5G, and is effectively future-proof for the next 15
years or more. Since 2017, the number of LTE-M networks has dramatically grown,
and by 2023 there were over 115 mobile network operators that supported the
protocol. Effectively, LTE-M (and NB-IoT) is directly supported in North and
South America, Europe, most of Asia, Australia and more.
Comparing LTE-M and CAT 1bis
Hardware
Cat 1bis is a comparable technology sometimes
used in connecting devices. It is a low-cost version of the CAT-1 chip,
containing only one antenna. It is ideal for low-cost IoT devices that don't
need the complexity of a MIMO antenna, found in CAT-1 chips, but want to
utilize LTE networks with higher data rates. Cat 1bis is also used for
applications that require higher throughput. Devices that involve voice
transmissions or require real time, two-way communication such as routing
updates are better served with the faster communication capabilities of cat
1bis.
However, cat 1bis chipsets introduce a
hardware/coverage challenge. These chips use a Full-Duplex Frequency Division
Duplex (FD-FDD). FD-FDD operation mode is having simultaneous transmission and
reception on two different frequency bands. These bands vary between regional
networks due to regulatory requirements, and the duplex gaps are different in
each region. As a result, each chip needs to be built for a specific regional
network. As shown in the following figure, a manufacturer developing a tracking
product that will be sold globally must develop and install chips for each
region. Building a global cat 1bis SKU increases the hardware components within
the chip and might add up to $4 to the cost of the chip (Out of China prices).
LTE-M chipsets, on the other hand, have a Half
Duplex Frequency Division Duplex (HD-FDD) operation mode. This means they are
unable to simultaneously transmit and receive data, and it also allows for more
simplicity on the hardware side, in terms of supported frequency bands: LTE-M
has one global SKU design. As a result, it is able to connect with any network
operator that supports 4G or 5G. This simplifies manufacturing, as developers
can create a single chipset model and deploy it globally.
This differentiation takes on greater
importance with trackers. As items sometimes move from one country or region to
the next, those devices being monitored by a cat 1bis need to be initially designed with specific region
SKU or global SKU. Packages, shipments, and other devices using a LTE-M chip
can still be monitored wherever they go.
Figure 1: High Level Hardware Design for
LTE-M, Cat 1bis Regional SKU, and Cat 1bis Global SKU
LTE-M has several other advantages over cat
1bis which make it ideal for tracking devices. It has a longer battery life,
ensuring that users can track the device for a longer period of time. This
takes on greater importance when items are being tracked and monitored over a
long period of time.
LTE-M also has better network coverage and
signal penetration than cat 1bis. Testing has shown that LTE-M can maintain
connectivity at coupling losses of up to 154 dB. Cat 1bis loses connectivity at
145 dB. This means LTE-M maintains connectivity in areas with poor network
coverage and gain 9dB compared to cat 1bis. This reliability is important in
tracking, where objects being tracked with a LTE-M chipset will continue to
transmit their locations even in poor coverage areas.
The Future of Asset Tracking
Global Connectivity is LTE-M
The choice of connectivity technology plays a
decisive role in the success of tracking assets anywhere in the world. LTE-M's
versatility and ability to operate seamlessly across regions makes it an
obvious choice, as organizations don't have the concern of losing connectivity.
This level of reliability allows businesses to
monitor their assets in remote locations, harsh conditions, or densely
populated urban environments with the same confidence. As these technologies
evolve, the balance between cost efficiency, global scalability, and
operational performance will further solidify LTE-M as the dominant choice to
track assets.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dana Cohen, in her role as Product
Marketing Manager at Sony Semiconductor Israel, expertly combines her technical
background in material engineering and semiconductors with her business acumen,
gained through an MBA in Business and Marketing. Her evolution from Systems
Engineer to Product Marketing Manager has equipped her with a unique
perspective in technology marketing.