With the shipment of NB-IoT reaching 50 million this year, and 100 million next year, after the rapid rise of NB-IoT, there is a gap between high-speed (5G and 4G LTE) and low-speed (2G GPRS and NB-IoT). The medium rate (including 3G, Cat.1, eMTC (catm)) market is emerging. The time for LTE Cat 1 to assume the main role of 4G Internet of Things connection has already begun. Among them, Category 1 is the user terminal level of the lowest version of the parameter configuration, allowing the industry to design "low version" 4G terminals at low cost, generally referred to as Cat 1. Therefore, the development of Cat 1 network and related industries is of great significance to complement the main scenarios of the Internet of Things.
Different from previous mobile communication technologies, 4G LTE does not provide all users with the same homogeneous services. LTE network operators will use various methods to hierarchically classify users and provide services with different network capabilities. For example, according to the quality of service (QoS) agreement signed with users, operators will provide users with customized services, including guarantees such as bandwidth and access priority. The hierarchical and hierarchical service, which is more familiar in the industry, provides different service capabilities based on the terminal access capability level, namely UE Category (User Terminal Level).
According to 3GPP related standards and specifications, UE category is a collection of a series of variable wireless performance parameters in uplink/downlink, including many wireless characteristics, the most important of which is the rate supported by the user equipment. The corresponding relationship between the various "UE Category" and supported rates is shown
in the following table: In the market distribution of cellular connections, high-speed connections account for 10% of the market, medium-rate connections are 30%, and low-rate connections are 60%. With the withdrawal of 2G from the network, NB-IoT can fill its technological gap and meet low-speed and low-cost requirements. With the withdrawal of 3G networks, Cat.1 and eMTC can bear the load mainly for voice, medium and low speeds and markets.
However, compared to Cat.1, eMTC's domestic opportunities are not great. The development of eMTC in China is not optimistic. eMTC requires infrastructure construction, and operators are now investing more resources in 5G construction. It is difficult to have excess funds invested in eMTC construction. In addition, domestic application cases are limited. The degree of reference is not high, and the development is difficult. Therefore, Cat.1 will undertake a huge market with a rate of 30% of the cellular rate.
Currently, China Mobile has 2.8 million 4G base stations nationwide, covering 98% of the area, including vast rural areas, and serving more than 700 million users. China Mobile proposes the coordinated development of 5G+4G, and the 4G network as the main service bearer network will be continuously optimized to create a 4G boutique network. Cat.1 products have completed 30 provinces and municipalities directly under the Central Government, and completed overseas network testing in 65 countries and regions, which is already a mature network.
Cat.1 has certain cost advantages. For example, in terms of network construction, LTE Cat.1 can now seamlessly connect to the existing LTE network, without the need to upgrade the base station software and hardware, and the network coverage cost is very low. In terms of chip cost, after system optimization, the integration level is higher, the hardware structure of the module is simpler, and the peripheral hardware cost is lower. In terms of delay, it has the same millisecond-level transmission delay as LTE Cat.4, and supports a moving speed above 100KM/H.
In some applications, it can be migrated from Cat.4 to Cat.1. For example, walkie-talkies, toy robots and other scenes that use 4G for voice interaction, before using Cat.4 can completely switch to Cat.1. Many scenarios with voice functions and medium-rate connections will have Cat.1 capabilities. These scenarios include sharing, financial payment, industrial control, car payment, public network intercom, pos, etc.
In the face of such a good technology market environment, how can Miracle IoT be absent. In 2020, the company will launch the CAT1 product-AM430E. AM430E is an LTE CAT1 application module that supports multi-standard and multi-band LTE-TDD/FDD/GSM/GPRS/EDGE. It can support VoLTE voice, up to 10Mbps download rate and 5Mbps upload rate. It has strong scalability, built-in rich network protocols, integrates multiple industrial standard interfaces, and supports multiple drivers and software functions, providing customers with great flexibility and easy integration. It can be applied to Cloud speakers, POS, POC, FWP, etc.
For more information, please pay attention to "eSIM IoT Workshop"
