SIMCom's NB-IoT module - the SIM7020G has now been certified to operate on Telstra, one of Australia's leading networks. Australia's telecoms sector is basically monopolized by the big three, Telstra, Vodafone and Optus. Among them, Telstra runs Australia's largest mobile and Wi-Fi networks, with a 40% market share. In 2018, Telstra launched their NB-IoT networks in major Australian cities and regions to enhance their IoT capabilities. Previously, SIM7000E and SIM7600SA from SIMCom had been certified by Telstra.
SIM7020G is an NB - IoT module supporting global frequency bands, including B1 / B2 / B3 / B4, B5 / B8 / B12 / bl3 / B17 / B18 / B19 / B20 / B25 / B26 / B28 / B66 / B70 / B71 / B85. With strong scalability, it supports multiple interfaces, including UART, SPI, I2C, GPIO, providing customers with flexible solutions. The SIM7020G packaging (LCC) is compatible with SIM800C (a 2G module that supports LCC), which can help customers easily transition and reduce time to market. Meanwhile, SIM7020G supports PSM and eDRX and has a 10-year battery life, providing better coverage than GSM modules. Now, it has been certified by CE/RCM/FCC/IC/GCF PTCRB/RoHS/REACH and a number of important global carriers including T-Mobile/Telstra/Vodafone, and is widely used across the world.
With its low cost, low power consumption, wide connectivity, wide coverage, deep penetration and high security, the SIM7020G is designed for low-latency, low-throughput applications. It is especially suitable for M2M applications, such as meters, trackers, remote monitoring, electronic medical devices, intelligent transportation, wearable devices, etc.
Telstra COO Robyn Denholm stated that NB-IoT will accelerate IoT applications in Australia, providing Telstra’s mobile network with the opportunity to connect millions of new devices that send small amounts of data at extremely low power. She claims Telstra has connected more than two million IoT devices in Australia and the number of device connections is expected to grow rapidly in the next five years.
This delivered NB-IoT deployment is part of Telstra's “future network” plan. It is a key pillar of Telstra's AUD $3 billion (US $2.3 billion) capital investment to improve user experience. As part of its IoT initiative, Telstra has established partnerships in the field of smart cities with Tasmania government, Australian Federal Government, several local parliaments and the University of Tasmania to develop and test new IoT solutions at Launceston and promote IoT adoption.
SIMCom has been expanding its presence in the Australian market for a long time. The company gained some experience when SIM7000E and SIM7600SA were certified by Telstra before. During the SIM7020G certification process, Telstra also intended to verify its NB Network with SIMCom's NB module. Through continuous interaction with IoTAS and discussion on test problems with MTK, with the continuous improvement of Telstra NB-IoT network, SIM7020G successfully passed the IoTAS pretest and finally got certified by Telstra.
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