How to connect to the Internet determines the success or failure of IoT solutions
LTE Cat M1, cheaper than regular LTE networks
Capable of transmitting more data than NB-IoT


When developing IoT solutions, engineers must consider how to connect to the Internet.

IoT solutions, which typically consist of hundreds or thousands of connected edge devices, face typical design constraints, such as cost and power management, at scale. How you connect to the Internet can make or break your IoT solution.

Engineers must be able to choose the most appropriate method for the solution they are developing among the various methods of connecting things to the Internet, such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, low-power wide area networks (LPWAN), cellular, satellite, and Bluetooth.

Jang Byeong-nam, CEO of CodeZoo, an IoT and embedded system integration technology company, suggested LTE Cat M1 among various Internet connection methods and also presented specific measures.

CEO Jang said, “LTE Cat M1 is a cellular network that can be used not only in short distances but also in long distances, along with LoRa (Long Range) and NB-IoT (Narrowband IoT) among LPWANs.” He added, “Unlike general LTE networks, LTE Cat M1 is an IoT-only network that is inexpensive but has limited usable capacity.”

When asked what the specific differences are between LTE Cat M1 and LoRa and NB-IoT, which are also part of LPWAN, Jang said, “LoRa is inexpensive and capable of long-distance communication, but it requires something called a LoRa gateway.” He added, “LoRa gateways are difficult to implement and are not cheap, so they are difficult to use.”

Next “In the case of NB-IoT, it is a cellular network like LTE Cat M1, but because it is the cheapest, it can only transmit about 100KB of data,” he said. “LTE Cat M1, on the other hand, can transmit over 10MB of data, and it has the advantages of cellular, so it is suitable for use in IoT networks that require more data, such as tracking mobile objects.”

So, what is the first thing an engineer should do to develop an IoT solution that uses LTE Cat M1 as an Internet connection method?

On November 17, CEO Jang will host a webinar titled “Hands-On Building an LTE Cat M1 IoT Prototype Using Global SIM” sponsored by global semiconductor distributor Mouser Electronics. And engineers will present two demos useful for developing prototypes of LTE Cat M1-based IoT solutions.

“The first demo will show engineers connecting devices to an IoT network via LTE Cat M1,” said Jang. “This demo will use an Arduino board, and we will be using the Arduino board, an LTE Cat M1 modem, and an open source library developed by Codezoo to make it work.”

He continued, “The second demo uses a Raspberry Pi and LTE Cat M1. The LTE Cat M1 modem connected to the Raspberry Pi acts as a Wi-Fi gateway in the same way as LTE tethering. We will show how to easily implement an IoT network by connecting other ESP32 boards through this gateway.”

◇ Prototypes can be created based on practical materials

There is a limit to the information that can be conveyed in a one-hour webinar. Jang said, “I have uploaded the above two demo-related materials on GitHub’s Codezoo site (github.com/codezoo-ltd),” and “If you have the materials, an Arduino board, an LTE Cat M1 modem, a Raspberry Pi, and an ESP32 board, you can try it out yourself after the webinar.”

“Developing an LTE Cat M1-based solution with only the ATcommand reference guide is really difficult and time-consuming,” said CEO Jang. “I hope that you will watch this webinar and follow along to create your own prototype.”