How to Connect to the Internet: A Key to the Success of IoT Solutions
LTE Category M1 is cheaper than standard LTE networks.
More data can be transmitted 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 inherent 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 their solution among the various methods for 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 also explained, “Unlike general LTE networks, LTE Cat M1 is a network dedicated to IoT 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, CEO Jang said, “LoRa is inexpensive and allows for long-distance communication, but it requires something called a LoRa gateway,” and 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. “In the case of LTE Cat M1, it can transmit more than 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 should engineers do first to develop IoT solutions that use LTE Cat M1 as their internet connection method?

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

“The first demo will connect LTE Cat M1 to a device used by engineers, enabling that device to communicate with an IoT network,” said CEO Jang. “This demo will use an Arduino board, and we will make it work using the Arduino board, an LTE Cat M1 modem, and an open source library developed by Codezoo.”

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 you how to easily implement an IoT network by connecting other ESP32 boards through this gateway.”

◇ Prototypes can be created based on practical materials.

There's a limit to the information that can be conveyed in a one-hour webinar. "I've uploaded the materials related to the two demos above to the Codezoo website on GitHub (github.com/codezoo-ltd)," said CEO Jang. "If you have the materials, an Arduino board, an LTE Category M1 modem, a Raspberry Pi, and an ESP32 board, you can try them 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.”