For Internet of Things devices, communication modules are definitely essential. In the Internet of Things market in the past few years, NB-IoT has also been very hot, but since the end of last year, Cat.1 has quickly become a "net red" in the field of Internet of Things, chip manufacturers, module manufacturers, and operators Push Cat.1. So, is Cat.1 really a new trend?
What is Cat.1?
"Cat" in Cat.1 does not mean "cat", but the abbreviation of Category. The full name of Cat.1 is LTE UE-Category 1 (UE refers to User Equipment), which is the wireless for user terminal equipment under LTE network. A classification of performance.
According to the definition of 3GPP, the UE-Category is divided into 1-15 total 15 levels, of which, Cat.1-5 is defined by Release 8 Released by 3GPP in March 2009, and Cat.6-8 is released by Release by 3GPP in 2011 10 Definitions. Subsequent Release 11 defines Cat. 9-12, and Release 12 defines Cat. 13-15.
Among them, Cat.1 is mainly aimed at the application of Internet of Things, and its downlink rate can be up to 10Mbps, and its uplink rate can be up to 5Mbps. However, because the Cat.1 terminal needed to use two antennas at the time, this was not friendly to some wearable devices with high volume requirements.
In order to cope with the more diversified application scenarios of IoT devices, 3GPP has also newly added the wireless performance level Cat.0 for new terminal devices in the IoT market in Release 12 version, and abandoned the support of MIMO (multi-antenna) Simplified to half-duplex, the peak rate is reduced to 1Mbps, and the terminal complexity is reduced to about 50% of Cat.1. Although the channel bandwidth of the Cat.0 terminal is reduced to 1.4MHz, its RF receiving bandwidth still reaches the same 20MHz as Cat.1.
Subsequently, 3GPP added Cat.M1 (ie eMTC, enhanced machine type communication) and Cat.NB-1 (ie NB-IoT) in R13. Among them, the channel bandwidth of eMTC and the RF receiving bandwidth are both 1.4MHz, the highest data transmission rate is 1Mbps, and the terminal complexity is further reduced. The bandwidth of NB-IoT is about 180KHz, which supports the transmission of low-flow data at rates below 100Kbps.
It can be seen that both eMTC and NB-IoT are mainly aimed at low-rate, low-power, and low-cost IoT applications. And for the medium-rate IoT application market, it is mainly Cat.1. With the explosion of the Internet of Things and the wearable market in recent years, the lack of a single antenna standard for LTE has become increasingly prominent. So in 2017, LTE Cat.1 bis officially became the LTE single antenna UE level.
2G, 3G accelerated withdrawal, Cat.1 opportunity is coming
As we all know, in the Internet of Things market in the past few years, NB-IoT has benefited from its advantages of strong connection, high access, ultra-low power consumption, deep coverage, low cost, high security and reliability, etc. It has been promoted by Internet of Things manufacturers, and has been widely used in many scenarios such as smart water meters, electricity meters, gas meters, street lamps and so on. Such scenarios have the characteristics of being static, small data volume, and low latency requirements, but have higher requirements for power consumption, cost, and network coverage.
In contrast, although eMTC, Cat.0, and Cat.1 have the advantages of higher transmission rate, low latency, support for mobility, and support for VoLTE voice communication, but have not been widely used, coupled with operations The inherent 3G network of Quotient makes mutual substitution to some extent, which has hindered its development. Because the industry has not formed a joint force, eMTC, Cat.0, and Cat.1 products have been relatively few, and the cost is difficult to quickly decline. Therefore, eMTC, Cat.0, and Cat.1 have been tepid.
So why has Cat.1 suddenly caught fire recently?
In October 2019, Wen Ku, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the director of the Department of Information and Communication Development, said that the conditions for China's mobile communications network to gradually withdraw from the 2G / 3G network have gradually matured. Obviously, this also means that the withdrawal of domestic 2G / 3G networks will be further accelerated.
On March 10, 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Notice on Further Promoting the Comprehensive Development of the Mobile Internet of Things (Draft for Comment)", which clarified the relevant requirements for 2 / 3G network transfer. For example, the basic principle mentions, "Encourage 2G / 3G users to migrate to the network as soon as possible"; the construction goal mentions, "Meet the needs of medium-rate Internet of Things and voice needs through Cat.1." The release of this opinion draft has also become a fuse for the Cat.1 market.
2G / 3G network withdrawal has become the general trend
In the mobile communication market, with the continuous upgrade of communication technology, the capital expenditure and operating expenditure of operators are also rising. At the same time, the available spectrum is also getting tighter, especially in some countries and regions where spectrum needs to be auctioned Spectrum resources have become increasingly expensive and scarce. The gradual frequency clearing and retreat of 2G or 3G networks has become the solution of choice for global operators.
From a global perspective, since 2008, operators in Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, Ecuador and other countries have begun to shut down 2G networks. In 2017, global operators began to intensively shut down 2G networks: Singapore ’s three major operators M1, Singtel, StarHub; American operators AT & T; Canadian operators Bell, Telus and Sask Tel, Australian operators Optus, Vodafone, etc. The 2G network was shut down this year.
After entering 2018, more operators announced the launch of 2G / 3G frequency clearing and network withdrawal. Major operators in China, the United States, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Russia have all announced the withdrawal of 2G / 3G. Internet time. In October 2019, the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam also disclosed a roadmap for the beginning of the shutdown of the country ’s 2G network in early 2022 to increase the spectrum inventory of 4G / 5G.
From a domestic point of view, the three major operators have already started the frequency clearing and withdrawal of 2G / 3G networks a few years ago.
China Unicom has already proposed in its 2016 annual report that it is necessary to accelerate the frequency reduction and capacity reduction of 2G / 3G networks, re-cultivate 900MHz spectrum, and orderly deploy 4G. On April 13, 2018, China Unicom officially announced on the official Weibo: It will promote the frequency reduction of 2G networks in an orderly manner. The entire 2G network shutdown process is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
In 2017, China Telecom began to re-cultivate the 800M Hz frequency band covering 2G / 3G, turning the 800M Hz frequency band into 4G, Internet of Things and other uses. China Telecom is vigorously promoting the commercialization of VoLTE, and is also accelerating the withdrawal of 2G and 3G users.
Unlike the other two major operators, China Mobile first gradually shut down the 3G TD-SCDMA network and then gradually shut down the 2G network. As early as the end of 2018, China Mobile stated that the future 5G terminal products will only support the NR / -LTE / LTEFDD / WCDMA / GSM mode, and the TD-SCDMA of the 3G network will be eliminated. According to the content of "5G Terminal Product Guidelines" released by China Mobile, China Mobile will shut down 3G networks in most areas by 2020, and increase the construction speed of 5G networks and the layout of base stations. As for the 2G network, China Mobile will complete 30% to 40% of the retreat work by December 2019, and complete all the retreat work by May 2020.
In general, from a global perspective, operators are clearing and retiring or recultivating 2G and 3G networks, and applying them to 4G networks is very beneficial to the cost control of operators. According to Vodafone's predictions, 2G and 3G networks in most countries and regions in the world will be withdrawn by 2025.
However, with the closure of 2G and 3G networks, a large number of low- and medium-rate network applications need to switch to NB-IoT or LTE networks including eMTC, Cat.0, Cat.1 and Cat.4.
Facing 30% of the Internet of Things market, is the era of Cat.1 coming?
However, as we mentioned earlier, NB-IoT and eMTC are mainly aimed at the low-rate Internet of Things market, and for medium-rate network application requirements, LTE Cat.1 is undoubtedly a good choice.
In the telecom LTE Cat 1 online seminar on the morning of April 2, Chen Yihua, a solution expert from Tianyi Wulian Technology Co., Ltd., also said that Cat.1 and NB-IoT will become effective for undertaking 2G / 3G transfer services Means, NB-IoT undertakes low-speed demand, Cat.1 undertakes medium-speed demand and voice demand.
Although Cat.4 can also bear the needs of some medium-rate scenarios, its capacity of 150Mbps in the downlink and 50Mbps in the uplink is bound to bring a lot of waste, and the cost and power consumption of Cat.4 are also higher. For most medium-rate IoT applications, Cat.1 with a maximum downlink speed of 10 Mbps and an uplink speed of 5 Mbps can handle it. In addition, Cat.1 not only supports the full frequency band, but also has a coverage capability similar to Cat.4, which can meet the needs of various medium rate scenarios with lower cost and power consumption.
According to industry estimates, according to the high, medium and low network rate, the distribution of cellular IoT connections is roughly: high rate 10%, medium rate 30%, low rate 60%. In other words, Cat.1 is facing the demand of 30% of the Internet of Things market, which is undoubtedly a huge market opportunity.
The forecast data released by China Telecom also shows that the global cellular Internet of Things market demand will reach 6 times growth in 2018-2023, of which the LTE Cat.1 market will increase by an average of 40 million per year (the number of terminals should be referred to here).
Another set of data also shows that as of 2020, the IoT cellular module application field will achieve 3 billion connections, of which 1 billion connections will be covered by Cat.1 and Cat.4.
In addition, in the Ziguang Zhanrui open class "Those of Zhanrui and Cat.1" at the end of last month, Xian Miao, vice president of Ziguang Zhanrui Intelligent Internet of Things, also said that in 2025, the number of global IoT cellular connections Break through the 5 billion mark. With the gradual transition from 2G and 3G to 4G, in the next 3-5 years, Cat.1 may be the main communication standard for cellular IoT, which also means that Cat.1 will face tens of millions It is a billion-level market.
"The era of LTE Cat.1 is here!" Chen Jianhua, an expert in the solution department of Tianyi Wulian Technology Co., Ltd., said in today's LTE Cat 1 online seminar of Telecommunications.
Chen Jianhua said that Cat.1 has four advantages:
1. The power consumption is small, and the chip complexity on the terminal side is reduced (a dedicated Cat.1 chip is used, the hardware architecture is simpler), which can effectively reduce power consumption; Under, the power consumption is reduced by 50% compared to Cat.4; in the working mode, the power consumption is also reduced by 50% compared to Cat.4.)
2. Wide coverage: Cat.1 can rely on the existing 4G network to achieve good network coverage (where there is a 4G signal, it can cover Cat.1), which can effectively avoid the risks caused by the 2 / 3G dropout;
3. Low cost: 30% lower than Cat. 4;
4. Easy deployment: Operators do not need to upgrade the network or build a network independently. They only need to configure the existing 4G LTE network to access the Cat.1 terminal.
In addition, Cat.1 relies on the existing LTE network, so it has the inherent low latency and good mobility of the LTE network, and can support language calls.
Chip makers, operators, and module factories have flooded in
The popularity of the Cat.1 market is not accidental. A few years ago, Qualcomm, Sequans, Altair and other chip manufacturers have launched Cat.1 chips. Since then, domestic chip manufacturers Ziguang Zhanrui, ASR (Ao Jie Technology) have also begun corresponding research and development, and launched their own last year. Cat.1 chip. At the same time that chip manufacturers launched Cat.1 chips, module manufacturers have also launched corresponding module products.
As early as January 2015, communication chip maker Sequans took the lead in releasing the first LTE Cat.1 chip, Calliope, which is mainly aimed at ultra-low-cost and ultra-low-power applications, including the wearable and Internet of Things markets. In 2017, foreign operator T-Mobile also launched a new IoT data plan with Sequans LTE Cat 1 module service.
In the second half of 2015, Altair also launched a low-cost, low-power single-mode LTE chip supporting Cat.1. In March 2016, ZTE also cooperated with Altair to launch the Cat.1 module product ME3610.
In the second half of 2015, Qualcomm also launched its first Cat.1 chip-MDM9207-1, integrated ARM Cortex-A7 processor, and GPS, Beidou, Glonass and Galileo positioning systems. It also integrates 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1 BLE.
In September 2019, Aojie Technology launched the Cat.1 and GSM dual-mode chip ASR3601 / 1601, which is suitable for feature phones, walkie-talkies, wearable and other fields. Module manufacturers such as China Telecom and Yuge Communication have launched Cat.1 modules based on ASR chips. At the end of last year, the W906 children's watch launched by 360 Company adopted the ASR3601 CAT1 multimode chip.
According to Sun Yanming, deputy general manager of China Mobile, the power consumption of its Cat.1 module is 50% lower than Cat.4 in idle mode; the power consumption is also reduced by 50% compared to Cat.4 in working mode. In terms of cost, the current Cat.1 module has also been controlled to about 40 yuan.
In November 2019, Ziguang Zhanrui also launched its first LTE Cat.1bis and GSM dual-mode chip-Ivy 8910DM. It adopts 28nm mature technology, with an upstream rate of 5Mbps and a downstream rate of 10Mbps, and has high integration. It also integrates Bluetooth communication and Wi-Fi indoor positioning, and supports VoLTE. It can be widely used in sharing economy, financial payment, public network intercom, energy, industrial control and other scenarios.
At the same time, three module products equipped with Ivy 8910DM: China Mobile ML302, Youfang N58 and Guanghetong L610 were also officially launched.
In addition to chip manufacturers and module manufacturers, domestic operators are also pushing Cat.1. Because, compared with the previous 2G, NB-IoT, and eMTC networks, Cat.1 as a 4G connection has a higher transmission rate and a wider range of application scenarios. OEM / ODM manufacturers can cooperate with operators to carry out platform operations, while selling products , Provide data services, can greatly increase the ARPU value.
As early as 2016, China Telecom started the commercial layout of Cat 1, and worked with partners to successfully implement multiple IoT solutions. In addition, China Telecom also issued a Cat1 module subsidy plan. According to the person in charge of the China Telecom Internet of Things Operation Center, China Telecom will invest 100 million yuan to subsidize the Internet of Things module in 2017, which will drive the overall development of the industry chain. Among them, 200 million yuan was used for direct subsidies for key IoT module products, including Cat.1 single-mode product subsidies and NB-IoT product subsidies. The subsidy for Cat.1 single-mode products is 40 yuan / module, and the subsidy for NB-IoT products is 20 yuan / module; all are set at thresholds such as network duration and subsidy rate. Subsequently, in July 2017, China Telecom also announced 12 IoT storage modules, of which Cat.1 modules and NB-IoT modules each accounted for half.
But since then, the development of Cat.1 has not achieved large-scale commercial use as expected by China Telecom. The reason is mainly because of the high cost of Cat.1 chips and modules at that time. At that time, the industry's Cat.1 modules were mainly based on Qualcomm's MDM9207-1 chip, which cost more than one hundred yuan.
In June 2016, Qualcomm announced that its IoT IoT chip has been adopted by more than 60 OEMs worldwide and won more than 100 product designs. Most of these products are based on Qualcomm MDM9207-1 chip. It is not difficult to see that Qualcomm was strong in the Cat.1 field. Before 2019, Cat.1 modules promoted by domestic module manufacturers were basically based on Qualcomm chip solutions.
In March 2020, China Mobile Communications announced that its two series of EX 1x and EG9x Cat 1 modules have shipped more than 5 million pieces in the global market. Yiyuan Communication has shipped more than 5 million pieces in the global LTE Cat 1 module market. Most of these are also based on Qualcomm's chip solutions. According to Xinzhixun, though, Yiyuan Communication officially launched Cat.1 module samples based on the ASR platform in January last year. However, according to official estimates, in May this year, the shipment scale of its Cat.1 module based on the ASR platform will reach 100K level.
And now, with the successive launch of Cat.1 chips of many domestic chip manufacturers such as Ziguang Zhanrui and ASR, and the follow-up of many module manufacturers, coupled with the acceleration of 2G / 3G accelerated withdrawal from the network, Cat. 1 The market is booming, but before Cat.1 module shipments really broke out, its cost has been rapidly reduced.
According to Sun Yanming, deputy general manager of Mobile Communications, with the localization and market growth, the NB-IoT module has dropped from more than 100 blocks to more than a dozen now, and Cat.1 modules In replicating this trend, the cost of domestic Cat.1 modules can now be controlled to less than 40.
With the popularity of the Cat.1 market and the reduction in the cost of chips and modules, China Telecom has always ushered in a strong investment in Cat.1.
According to Chen Jianhua, an expert in the solution department of Tianyi Wulian Technology Co., Ltd., China Telecom has deployed more than 400,000 NB-IoT base stations, and Cat.1 supports more than 1.5 million base stations, which has achieved continuous coverage. Chen Jianhua emphasized that China Telecom has been re-cultivating 800M in 2016, which is to prepare for 2G / 3G withdrawal. At present, telecom 4G coverage has reached more than 96%, and many remote areas have covered. Telecom's NB-IoT and cat.1 will be deployed in the 800M gold band.
According to Xinzhixun, China Telecom still has a subsidy policy for Cat.1 modules.
In contrast, China Mobile did not seem to have a cold for Cat.1 before, and more of its Internet of Things applications still rely on 2G network networks. According to public data, as of the end of June 2019, China Mobile had more than 690 million IoT connections. The majority of connections of this size are still achieved through 2G. Data shows that as of 2018, China Mobile's 2G IoT connections are still growing at a rate of 30 million per month.
Obviously, under the trend of accelerating the withdrawal of 2G / 3G networks, the migration of China Mobile's Internet of Things users urgently needs to be accelerated. Therefore, we also see that at the China Mobile Global Partner Conference in November last year, China Mobile ’s China Mobile Internet of Things deployed China Mobile ’s OneMO management platform and two LTE modules ML302 (Cat.1) and ML303 (Cat.4).
In addition, China Unicom is also adding Cat.1. Recently, in the external bidding project of China Unicom Internet of Things Co., Ltd. Cat.1 public network digital intercom PCBA procurement project (tender number: YT09202000160ZB), the domestic module manufacturer Meige Intelligent PCBA based on Ziguang Zhanrui 9810DM Cat.1 chip PCBA The plan won the bid successfully. The total purchase volume of the project was 500,000 pieces, which was the largest in the bidding for the operator's intercom plan.
summary:
It is foreseeable that with the acceleration of 2G / 3G drop-out, Cat.1 will undoubtedly become the first choice for undertaking the demand of medium-speed Internet of Things. With the efforts of many domestic Cat.1 chip and module manufacturers and the help of operators, the price of Cat.1 is becoming more and more attractive, and as the subsequent shipments continue to enlarge The cost may drop to a level similar to NB-IoT modules, and this time may be next year. However, Cat.1 will not form a substitute for NB-IoT. The two are not a competitive relationship, but a complementary relationship. But Cat.1 will indeed squeeze eMTC.
