LTE Cat-M1 and NB-IoT

How to choose the right

technology for your IoT
application?
QUECTEL
Quectel Wireless Solutions - Dedicated Supplier of M2M Wireless Modules

Quectel Wireless Solutions is one of the leading global suppliers of industrial-grade cellular and GNSS modules,
which can be widely applied in IoT markets, such as:

● automotive ● smart metering

● remote control ● asset tracking
● wireless POS ● security and healthcare

Quectel’s comprehensive product portfolio includes LTE, UMTS/HSPA(+), GSM/GPRS and GNSS Modules and is
also well-known as the world’s first supplier of NB-IoT module compliant with 3GPP R13 standard.

The BG96 module supports both NB-IoT and eMTC technologies, all of which are at the frontier of IoT fields.
 TOP-electronics

a design-in driven
TOP-electronics is a design-in driven electronic components and modules electronic components
distributor and representative, working with several and modules distributor
high-tech manufacturers in each of our product groups, such as: and representative
● M2M, Wireless and IoT ● Test and Measurement

● Precision Analog ● Motion Control

● Power Conversion ● Active & Passive Components Together we create a

smarter world
TOP-electronics has a motivated, experienced team which works
directly with our customer's engineers to provide a high level of
local assistance, supporting our customers all the way from
pre-development, through the design phase to production and after-sales.

TOP-electronics is located in the Netherlands and in the USA.

Possible Wireless Technologies
0.1 m: RFID: for linking devices, payment, security, etc.

10 m: IR, Zigbee, Bluetooth, RF4CE: implemented for audio applications

and data devices up to 3 Mbps

100 m: WiFi: implemented for local data transmissions. Trend is to increase

throughput speeds up to 1 Gbps

10 km: GSM, LTE: for mobile communication systems

Sigfox, LoRa, NB-IoT: for long distance, low speed applications

Wireless Backhaul:
Point to point communication systems up to 1 Gbps
LTE Cat-M1 and NB-IoT

What are the capabilities of the latest cellular

technologies like NB-IoT and LTE Cat-M1
compared to older technologies like GPRS,
UMTS / HSPA for your IoT application.
IoT technology
Asset
Tracking Electronics
Smart Parking System Water / Gas
Metering

Daily /
Fire Hydrant
Personal
Life Person/Pet Tracking
Public Utilities
IoT
Technology
Smoke Health care
Alarm Glucometer Vehicle tracking
Street Blood pressure monitor (GSM/GPS, with
Lighting Elderly monitoring
Remote medical equipment personal database)

Trash Bin Bicycle

Electric scooter
Gas Detector Electric bike
Remote meter readout Soil PH / Optical Sensor Car
Water quality monitoring Industry & Acceleration sensors Transportation
Elevator Agriculture Environmental sensors
Irrigation Controller Pressure sensors
Leak detection Gyroscope monitoring Container tracking
Ship tracking
Irrigation Controller

Machinery Alarm System

General IoT device architecture, slide I
IoT Device Host – The application specific
environment containing the IoT device e.g.
FirmWare vehicle, utility meter, security alarm etc.

IoT Device – The combination of both the

IoT IoT IoT Device Application and the
Chipset
Device Device
Application Communications Module.
Host
UICC IoT Device Application – The application
Communications
software component of the IoT Device that
Module controls the Communications Module and
interacts with an IoT Service Platform via
IoT Device
the Communications Module
General IoT device architecture, slide II
Communications Module – The communications
component which provides wide area (2G, 3G, 4G) radio
connectivity. Comprising of Communications Module
FirmWare Firmware, Radio Baseband Chipset and UICC.

Communications Module Firmware – The functionality

IoT IoT within the Communications Module that provides an API
Chipset
Device Device
Application to the IoT Device Application and controls the Radio
Host Baseband Chipset.
UICC
Radio Baseband Chipset – The functionality within the
Communications communications module that provides connectivity to the
Module
mobile network.
IoT Device
UICC – The smart card used by a mobile network to
authenticate devices for connection to the mobile network
and access to network services.
Challenges for IoT Terminal Development

• RF designs with highly integrated solutions

• Friendly and complete development environment
• Power consumption for 5 ~ 10 years of life cycle
• Adapted throughput for the application
• Global standardization and certification
• Following the evolution of the latest technology standards
SIGFOX Advantages Disadvantages

They have employed 1500 antennas No Global Standard and Certification

In the USA 30% coverage No Authentication, no full Security

Throughput is limited < 0.1 kbps
In Europe mainly in Spain, UK,
Netherlands, Belgium and France Closed technology, the only operator is
are growing towards other countries Sigfox
like Italy, Denmark, Ireland
The antennas have limited range
The hardware is cheap, but there’s
a connecting price Using unlicensed frequencies, so
sensitive to interferences
 Advantages Disadvantages

LoRa Low cost, easy to install Only for static applications

No Global Standard and Certification, based on LORA

Open Source Technology

No full network coverage

Widely employed in some countries
Not all operators participate
Large deployment
Not compatible between manufacturers
Main application for connecting a large number
of items within range No full security

Growing number of memberships Coverage of stations (15 km range)

Needs a dedicated gateway
Throughput < 50 kbps
Can be used by non-Telecom Operators
and Private Networks
Who pays for the base stations? Service charges

Using unlicensed frequencies, so sensitive to

interferences

Needs Base Station Management

 Advantages Disadvantages
NB-IoT Need to subscribe to a Network Operator
APT (Adaptive Power Control) for power saving

Some modules can switch between Only operates in Public Models

NB-IoT – Cat M1

Cat-NB1 (<100 kbps) - Cat-M1 (<375 kbps)

LTE 4G Network is already in place

Full Worldwide Coverage

Global 3GPP Licensed Standard with

Security and Certification
 Advantages Disadvantages

CAT M1
Global Need to subscribe to a Network Operator

4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) network Only operates in Public Models

with an open environment

Coverage

Security (licensed spectrum, which

provides a secure and private network)

Efficiency (significantly smaller bandwidth

than other cellular services, but it's more than
enough for most IoT applications)
NB-IoT Advantage – Long Battery Life
The industry aims to achieve around 10 years of battery operation for simple daily connectivity
with a small amount of data exchanged.
PSM (Power Saving Mode) and eDRX (Enhanced Discontinuous Reception) are
the key technologies to extend the battery life in NB-IoT.

Terminal in PSM is still registered with the network but the signals can not reach until
Rel-12 Power Saving Mode (PSM) it wakes up automatically. This kind of deep sleeping can help conserving energy.
Rel-13
*TAU (Tracking Area Update)
*UE (User Equipment) eDRX is a new feature released in Rel-13, which extends the sleep cycle of the
terminal in Idle mode to reduce the unnecessary start-up of the RX units. It
improves the reachability of downlink greatly compared with PSM.

● Simplified protocol, low power consumption

● High PA efficiency
Extended DRX
● Short Tx/Rx time
Calculation example of the power consumption
Power consumption of BC95
PSM mode 3,2 uA
Idle/Standby 6 mA
Active TX (@23 dBm) 250 mA
Active RX 61 mA

Example of Sensor application with

Received Signal is -129 dBm and Transmission Power is 23 dBm
DURATION CONSUMPTION
Startup → Attach (one time) 17,5 s 175,46 uAh
Connect State 5 s 72,9 uAh
PSM → Attach 830,9 ms 10,7 uAh
PSM → Send 200bytes 3,1 s 119,6 uAh
PSM 24 h 80,8 uAh
Total 284 uAh

Using a 1000 mAh battery, battery life is (1000*1000)/(284*365) = 9.7 Years

NB-IoT Advantage – Extended Coverage
The target for the IoT connectivity link budget is an enhancement of 20dB. This coverage enhancement
would typically be equivalent to the signal penetrating a wall or floor, enabling deeper indoor coverage.

Uplink PSD increase 17dB Repetition / Retransmission 6~16dB

Typical Case 2G/3G/LTE Solution

PSD = 200m
W/180kHz Repetition

180 KHz
IoT Device：200mw

NB-IoT Solution Codec

2~16 Repetition
Data Package： PSD = 200mW/3.
e.g 100 byte 75kHz

3.75KHz

Note

GSM terminal Tx. can reach 33dBm. NB-IoT Tx. is about 23dBm.

The PSD of NB-IoT is 7dB more than GPRS.

PSD (Power Spectral Density )

NB-IoT / Cat.M1 Advantage – Massive Connection
It is ideal to have about 50K devices per cell; this is possible assuming the household density per every sq. m
is 1500 with 40 devices in every household.

Typical Model Special System Design for Massive Links

Key Technology 1： Narrowband technology

15 min. ~ 1 day Uplink Equivalent Power(36 channel * 23dBm)

> 100 byte Key Technology 2： Decrease Signal Interaction

Optimize the efficiency of frequency spectrum

Key Technology 3： Nodes optimization

Independent congestion controls
~50K Devices/Cell Terminal context saves

Key Technology 4： Core net optimization

Save registered information
delay-tolerant Download data cache
Comparison between LPWA Technologies
LoRa UNB
NB-IoT CAT-M1
（Semtech） （Sigfox）

Unlicensed Unlicensed
Spectrum LTE & 2G Bands LTE & 2G Bands
433/868MHz 902MHz

pi/4 QPSK QPSK Chirp Spread

Modulation & Demodulation FSK
pi/2 BPSK QAM Spectrum

Uplink Data Rate < 180 kbps < 375 kbps < 10kbps < 0.1kbps

Bandwidth 200KHz 1MHz 125-500kHz 100KHz

20dBm
Transmit Power 23dBm 14dBm 14dBm
or 23dBm

Mostly
Network S/W Upgrad Green Field Green Field
S/W Upgrad

Terminal Price ~2G Price ~2G Price ~2G Price ~2G Price

Battery Life (200byte/day) >10 years >10 years >10 years >10 years

164dB 155.7dB 157dB 160dB EU

Coverage
~15km ~15km ~10km ~12km

Standard Open 3GPP Open 3GPP Proprietary Proprietary

eMTC Evolution (Enhanced Machine Type Communication)

Rel-8 Cat.4 Rel-11 Cat.1 Rel-13 Cat-M1 Rel-13 NB-IoT

Downlink Peak Rate 150Mbps 10Mbps 1Mbps <100Kbps

Uplink Peak Rate 50Mbps 5Mbps 1Mbps (Full Dup.) <100Kbps

Coverage MCL 140.7dB 140.7dB 155.7dB 164dB

(Minimum Couplink Loss)
Battery Life (200 bytes / day) < 1 year < 1 year ~ 10 years ~ 10 years

Number of Antennas 2 2 1 1

UE Receive Bandwidth 20MHz 20MHz 1,4MHz 200KHz

UE Transmit Power 23dBm 23dBm 23dBm 23dBm

Standard Readiness Now Now Now Now

Network Readiness Now Now Now Now

NB-IoT - LTE Cat.NB1 (module diagram)
LOAD TX SWIT CH
VBAT APT DCDC RF_ANT
SWITCH Filter

RF_PA

RX_SAW

RF transceiver RIO
And Analogue AIO

RESET
PMU Baseband Main UART
VDD_EXT Debug UART
Flash
SRAM USIM
DCDC XTAL
SPI SWD
Driver
NETLIGHT
TCXO SPI
32K 38.4M eSIM
IC SPI Flash
LDO (Optional)

Based on Hisilicon Boudica Chipset

LTE Cat-NB1
LTE Cat.NB1 LTE Cat.NB1
Industry’s smallest NB-IoT module
DL/UL <100 kbps
BC95-B8 900MHz B1@H-FDD 2100MHz
BC95-B5 850MHz B3@H-FDD 1800MHz
BC95-B20 800MHz, B8@H-FDD 900MHz
BC95-G B1/B3/B5/B8/B20/B28 @LTE-FDD (TBD) B5@H-FDD 850MHz
Protocols IPv4 / IPv6* / UDP / CoAP B20@H-FDD 800MHz
B28@H-FDD 700MHz

Support embedded eSIMPCB footprint LCC package for robust soldering

LCC package for robust soldering Dimensions 17.7mm × 15.8mm × 2.3mm
Dimensions 19.9mm × 23.6mm × 2.2mm Temperature range: -40℃~ +85℃
Temperature range -40℃~ +85℃

The BC95 is compatible with the Quectel M95/UG96/UG95/EG91 modules The BC68 is compatible with the Quectel M66 module
Cat-M1 / Cat-NB1 / EGPRS
Cat-M1 / Cat-NB1 / EGPRS

LTE Cat.M1/Cat.NB1/EGPRS module with ultra-low power consumption Compact SMT form factor ideal for size-constrained applications with tight space
Easy drop-in migration to GSM/GPRS/HSPA/LTE modules. Super slim profile in LGA package.

LTE Cat-M1 Max. 375kbps (DL) LTE Cat-NB1 Max. 32kbps (DL)
Max. 375kbps (UL) Max. 70kbps (UL)

GPRS Max. 85.6kbps (DL) EGPRS Max. 236.8kbps (DL)

Max. 85.6kbps (UL) Max. 236.8kbps(UL)

Protocols PPP / TCP / UDP / SSL / TLS / FTP(S) / HTTP(S)

Functions Data / VoLTE / GNSS / FOTA / (U)SIM / UART

USB / I2C/I2S / ADC /GPIO / Antenna
By programming the module CAT-M1
Temperature Range -40℃~ +85℃ can switch to NB-IoT with GPRS data
LGA package 22.5mm × 26.5mm × 2.3mm
for GSM

Compatible with Quectel M95/UG95/UG96/BC95/EG91/EG95 module

QuecOpen

QuecOpen is an open source

embedded development
platform based on Linux
system, which is intended to
simplify the design and
development process for
IoT-applications.

Figure: Framework of QuecOpenTM*

DFOTA – Delta Firmware Upgrade Over-the-Air
DFOTA is an acronym for Delta Firmware
Upgrade Over-the-Air.

DFOTA technology enables mobile device

manufacturers to remotely update
software. New software can be delivered
over the air, eliminating the need for
users to bring the device to a service
facility.

Firmware Upgrade Process via DFOTA

▪ DFOTA Sync
▪ DFOTA Packet
▪ DFOTA Upgrade Error Handle
 Quick Start GRPS / NB-IoT EVB Kit

QNavigator

UMTS & LTE EVB Kit

Quectel offers a GUI tool named
QNavigator.

It can help customers quickly

test Quectel modules functionality
even if they are not familiar with AT
commands.
Questions ?
 Thanks for your attention !

You are more than welcome

at the TOP-electronics and Quectel booth

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the Netherlands number 7