Choosing the Right Route to Low-Power Cellular IoT: A User Guide to Simplifying LTE-M/NB-IoT Design Projects

The goal of this white paper is to help product engineers map out a more direct path to designing low-power cellular LTE connectivity into their products; ideally product engineers/ developers who do not live and breathe cellular design but will soon be tasked with IoT design projects that require an understanding of how to use the new low-power cellular protocols LTE Cat-M1 and NB IoT in conjunction with more familiar technologies like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Engineers in this space have already had to learn the complexities of working with other technologies like ZigBee, Wi-Fi, and LoRA for prior IoT projects, but cellular has an even steeper learning curve.

This white paper is written to provide those engineers with a route that simplifies the process of completing IoT projects with these new cellular protocols, without the metaphorical detours and dead ends that we discussed above. Designing low power, connected features into a product is challenging with any wireless technology, but it is particularly challenging with cellular LTE technology, so it is important to avoid making it even harder by taking the long way around.