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  • Author Author: rscasny
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What Is Your Interest in Roadtesting Cellular IoT Dev Boards?

When it comes to wireless connectvity, element14 community members often cite WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee and the like. Cellular isn't always at the top of the discussions. There's a lot of reasons for this, cost of which is probably one of them.

 

But Cellular IoT (NB-IoT, LTE-M, etc) is growing a lot worldwide. From what I have read, the growth is not just good but decisive. Despite some other drawbacks such as payload size and power consumption, I think these cellular IoT products are making big impact in the marketplace. So, I'm thinking that the time has come to roadtest more products that feature cellular connectivity. To start, I would expect this to be development boards.

 

I wanted to gauge the RoadTest Group's interest in Cellular IoT products.

 

Sincerely,

 

Randall Scasny

RoadTest Program Manager

 

  • I've got a couple Hologram Nova SIM USB modems, and they are great for small packets of data.

    They work well on Raspberry Pi.

    https://hologram.io/nova/

    Scott

  • In Germany you can go as low as 2 EUR per month for 100MB with LTE speed (going above that the connection speed will be reduced to 64kbit). You go up from there to e.g. 2GB/month for 8 EUR.

    Thats still not exactly cheap for wide-scale deployment, but the cost seems quite reasonable.

  • in reply to geralds

    Maybe this thought can help (I'll write here as my own answer, just to expand the thought).

    On the other hand, one can also consider a cellular modem as a "high-frequency network cable".
    This would mean that one does not necessarily need a SIM card for communication in the private network.
    There are e.g. GSM modem with the function that simply establish a connection with a dialing number private telephone system within a "building", ie on the private land.
    Not every device is equipped with such a function, but it would be a possibility to test Cellular devices.
    Of course you need two devices, one for sending the remote device, one for receiving in the telephone system.
    For example, dialing emergency numbers are possible in our country without a SIM card.
    Well, that does not have to be an emergency number now, it can be a private number.

    But important: the regulations of the telecom authority must be observed.

    Therefore, it is important for us to know to what extent you, or the suppliers, set the test requirements. We therefore need to know in advance what to test, and whether the device that is being controlled also has the appropriate functions.
    I also speak here for the other users, so I think that they would have similar ideas and thoughts.

    Well, a "go-it-and-test" will not go right here. So my thoughts about it.

     

    Gerald

    ----

  • I agree with others: I think the major drawback for this technology is cost. I had the opportunity to test in the past the Hologram Nova. For small or not-so-frequent messages I think such technologies are fine, but if you want to get things like video involved, the plans can skyrocket pretty fast. Also, when communicating there is mandatory header information that is not easy to control, if header/labels are too long (or too many) that will add to the operating costs in the long term.

     

    Luis

  • I recently roadtested the Symbisa IoT device which is a GSM product running on Hanhaa's own 2G network (which is somewhat limiting in itself). The device itself could benefit from more functionality. However, from a cost perspective their pricing model works well for applications that send periodic data rather than realtime data. In the UK, you can buy 1000 data "credits" upfront for £9 plus tax which means that you can send/receive 1000 data transactions to the cloud. There is an empty SIM carrier inside which possibly means that there might be a 3G/4G option in the future.

  • in reply to ntewinkel

    Hey ,

     

    I'm also in Canada (Ontario) so I hear you on the cost of cellular plans. That being said the best I was able to do for now was to get the name and it seems to be supplied by Sierra Wireless. They have a service called Smart SIM,you can look into that and see if that might work better for you. I'm not sure if they have competition from other providers that may be cheaper but that is what I have used when working with my MangOH boards.

     

    Kas

  • in reply to kas.lewis

    Hi Kas,

     

    >If anyone wants more information I can look up who the company is and get back to you.

     

    That would be great, yes.

    All I see out there are monthly plans, and the best I've seen is the $100/year pay-as-you-go from Bell or Virgin, and there are definite expiry dates for all of them, although the pay-as-you-go will carry-forward any unused balance.

     

    ps, I'm in Canada, not sure if you're looking at US-only options? You seem to get much better deals there.

     

    -Nico

  • in reply to dougw

    The SIM cards from Sierra Wireless again seem to not really care about what technology is being used as long as the cell modem can handle the connection it's all good.

     

    Kas

  • in reply to ntewinkel

    I have seen plans that are data based. That means you pay for 100MB of data and as long as you have data in the bank you can keep sending data. Once you run out that's it. This is very popular with companies trying to promote their products. I have this with MangOH from Sierra Wireless. Its interesting that the ones I have are carrier agnostic and seem to be able to work anywhere around the world or at least most places. If anyone wants more information I can look up who the company is and get back to you.

     

    Kas

  • in reply to avnrdf

    Some are, some aren't. Definitely something to sort out.