Cellular IoT – Enabling a world of everything connected

Why cellular IoT

When evaluating the most appropriate low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) technology for your Internet of Things (IoT) application, it's important to consider several factors beyond just technical specifications, which can be far removed from from real-world performance. These are some of the key reasons why cellular IoT (consisting of NB-IoT and LTE-M) may be a better choice for your IoT project than LoRaWAN, Sigfox, Wi-SUN, or other LPWANs.

The benefits of the nRF91 Series in cellular IoT

• Integration: Unprecedented level of integration by a complete communication and application module with all relevant components in a tiny 10x16mm System-in-Package (SiP) for nRF9160 SiP and nRF9161 SiP, 11x12mm for the nRF9151 SiP, and 7 x 11mm for the nRF9131 mini SiP. This enables cost-efficient and compact designs that are not possible with competing solutions, such as a solar-powered animal tracker weighing an impressive 2.5 grams.
• Low power: The power consumption of your product is not determined by a few data points on a datasheet, but by the average power consumption during operation. The nRF91 series was designed from the ground up for unparalleled power efficiency for all network conditions, enabling ground-breaking products like the world's first solar-powered and battery-free cellular IoT asset tracker that can run continuously on harvested solar energy.
• Ease of use: Development is streamlined with great documentation, full software development kit support, flexible hardware and powerful development tools. This allows customers to save significant time and resources in their development cycle while achieving the desired performance and energy targets of their applications.
• Global certifications: Certified for use in all key regions and with all major operators, allowing your product to be easily deployed on a global scale without the need for a complex BOM and supply chain for region-specific components.

Getting start with Cellular IoT – Thingy:91 X  

The Nordic Thingy:91 X is a battery-powered cellular IoT prototyping platform based on the nRF9151 System-in-Package (SiP) supporting LTE-M, NB-IoT, GNSS and NR+, and certified for global use. It is the ideal platform for rapid prototyping of any cellular IoT concept and is particularly suited for asset tracking applications. The Nordic Thingy:91 X enables location tracking via cellular (MCELL and SCELL), Wi-Fi, or GNSS, in combination with nRF Cloud Location Services.