In part 1 on this topic I’ve been giving a quick overview of Machine Type Communication (MTC) and Internet of Things (IoT) from a cellular network operator and 3GPP point of view. In this post I’ll jump right to the first couple of enhancements made the 3GPP LTE specifications over the years to show which … Continue reading Cellular IoT – The Dust Slowly Settles – Part 2 – Cat-1 and Cat-0 Devices
I haven’t written a lot about the Internet of Things (IoT) so far as there are so many different approaches discussed, specified, prototypes tested and proprietary solutions rolled out these days. In other words, it’s not easy to keep an overview and to get a feeling which solutions might might become popular and which will … Continue reading Cellular IoT – The Dust Slowly Settles – MTC, NB-IOT and Things In Between – Part 1
In an interesting post over at RCR Wireless, I noticed today that AT&T is about to shut-down their LTE NB-IoT network. And not only in a couple of years from now. No, the full shutdown is scheduled for Q1/2025. So surely there will be a new and shiny replacement technology in place? Hm, no, not … Continue reading AT&T Quits LTE NB-IoT
It was predictable in some way that sooner or later, I would want to do yet another ‘upgrade’ in the flight simulator and move to something bigger. After the turboprop Daher TBM-930, which I started flying last year, it was either a private yet or an airliner. There is lots of choice and in the … Continue reading Reality Bites – Flight Simulation – Part 10 – Moving to ‘the Bus’
In the previous episodes, I’ve gone into some of the details of the Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) extensions specified in 3GPP Rel. 17 36.300 and 38.300. One main aspect I haven’t addressed so far is mobility, so let’s have a look at that today! Actually, mobility in NTN is even more fun than in terrestrial networks … Continue reading NTN – Part 6 – Satellite Mobility
In part 1 of this series, I’ve taken a high level look at how the LTE and 5G air interface specifications have been extended in 3GPP Release 17 to accommodate for weaker signals, longer delays and patchy coverage typically experienced over satellite. In part 2, I’ve chased the question why the LTE NB-IoT and CAT-M … Continue reading NTN – Part 3 – 3GPP Rel. 17 – System Architecture for Satellite Services
Wow, this is already part 12 in my blog series on the Garmin InReach Mini 2 and the underlying Iridium satellite constellation. Perhaps you remember, my main use case for the Mini 2 is to have a means to communicate with family members in other countries should there be a longer network outage, be it … Continue reading When All Else Fails – The Garmin InReach Mini 2 – Part 12 – Capacity for InReach
In recent months, satellite services for smartphones have been hyped a lot. While surprising for many, including me, this didn’t come out of nowhere, and a lot of companies have worked on this topic for quite some time. 3GPP has also picked up the topic a few years ago with study items in 3GPP Release … Continue reading NTN Part 1 – 3GPP Rel. 17 – Non-Terrestrial Networks
Back in the ‘good old days’, things were simple on the LTE air interface. It served one purpose and one purpose only: Fast Internet connectivity. This allowed to keep most things about the air interface static. The 5G NR interface on the other hand tries to keep all options open for the future and the … Continue reading What Are 5G Bandwidth Parts?
Back in 2016 and 2017 I had quite a number of articles on NB-IoT, the Narrow Band Internet of Things technology that can run alongside LTE to connect things to the Internet over the cellular network. From being very power efficient to run over years on batteries to increased in-house coverage, the standard contains a … Continue reading NB-IoT From Theory To Practice