{"id":27,"date":"2019-09-27T17:13:37","date_gmt":"2019-09-27T17:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travel.onesimcard.com\/m2mblog\/?p=27"},"modified":"2025-06-11T11:10:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T11:10:03","slug":"wireless-connectivity-history-and-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travel.onesimcard.com\/m2mblog\/wireless-connectivity-history-and-trends\/","title":{"rendered":"Wireless Connectivity \u2013 History and Trends"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Wireless\nConnectivity \u2013 History and Trends<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of us remember\nthe time when we had to wait for an annoyingly long time for data to load over\nour internet connections. Even simple text would sometimes take a minute to\nload, because we only had dial-up wired\/cable internet. However, technology and\nspeed changed at a rapid pace. Now, we have high-speed internet running on our\ncell-phones 24 hours a day. So, let\u2019s cherish this growth by discussing how we\ngot there and what are the latest trends in the industry and IoT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wireless\nConnectivity: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the wireless networks today use radio\ncommunication to connect two or more nodes (devices) together. This includes\nCellular Networks, WIFI Networks, Satellites, Bluetooth and more. Wireless\nconnectivity is the design and installation of devices that will be\ntransmitting and receiving signals for much of M2M (Machine to Machine) connectivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new Trends: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the evolution of technology, wireless\nconnectivity is gaining popularity day by day. A big chunk of the networking is\nnow wireless. Our cellular systems started with1G and now 5G is beginning to be\ndeployed. At this time most of the cellular companies are offering 2G, 3G and\n4G technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2G (second generation):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launched by the Finish company Radiolinja, now\nElisa, in 1991, it was the first time that digital encryption of our phone\nconversations became possible. Also, it offered SMS and MMS technologies that\nwere not present in the earlier generation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to its high efficiency, 2G allowed greater\nmobile phone penetration (number of sim cards\/ phone numbers)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2G originally had a speed of 128 Kbps. Later,\nit was updated to 2.5G at 256 Kbps. 2G is still being widely used around the\nworld.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3G (third generation):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3rd generation networks emerged in 1998. It\nbrought along faster transmitting speeds that allowed internet access and video\ncalling features. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this time we also started to see the\nadoption of IoT solutions like GPS tracking on 2G and 3G networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the max speed of 3Mbps for non-moving and\n384 kbps for moving devices, 3G was the first to introduce the term\n“mobile broadband”. Some later version of 3G could provide the speed\nup to 10 MBps for download and 5 Mbps upload.  3G provided \u201call-in a mobile environment\u201d by\nallowing Internet access, voice and video calling features and streaming\ncontent on mobile devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All cellular networks are also better in terms\nof the security they offer. The UE (user equipment) ensures that the network\nconnections are validated and verified before establishing a connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4G-LTE (fourth generation):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4G networks are also called Long Term Evolution\n(LTE); it is a single platform for many wireless networks. Released in 2008, 4G\nnetworks support internet access and high-quality video and live streaming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The maximum speed of a 4G\/LTE network is 150Mbps.\nAnd if the user is moving then the speed could be as high as 100 Mbps. Globally\ntoday, 3G and 4G technologies are most widely used technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LTE provides the ultimate internet experience\nwith IP packet delay being less than 5 milliseconds somewhat similar to wired\nbroadband internet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

LTE was introduced with the purpose of\nincreasing the capacity and speed of wireless networks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LTE CAT M1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LTE CAT M1 is\nthe standard developed specifically for M2M, IOT applications.  This standard uses only small part of LTE channel\nbandwidth -1 MB and as such allows better utilization of it. CAT M1 also allows\nfor a lower power consumption of the devices. LTE CAT M1 can be used for the\ntracking of moving devices or assets as the latency of the mode is still low.\nThe devices using LTE CAT M1 standard generally offers lower manufacturing cost\ndue to lower module costs. LTE CAT M1 will be the most widely used standard in\nIOT for the tracking of moving assets.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NB-IoT<\/strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like LTE-CAT M1, this standard was also developed\nby 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project). NarrowBand-Internet of Things\nuses LPWA (low power wide area) technology. It improves the spectrum of\nservices and devices, especially focusing on indoor and deep coverage, and\nimproved battery life of devices. NB-IOT uses even less bandwidth than LTE CAT\nM1 \u2013 only 100 KHz and as such can transmit data at very low speed of 250 Kbits\nper second. The latency (delay) can be as large as 10 seconds and because of\nit, this mode is not recommended to be used with the tracking of moving\nobjects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Narrow Bank IoT technologies- NB-IoT\nand LTE CAT M1 -IoT are able to conserve battery life by utilizing a small,\nhighly efficient segment of bandwidth, the device battery life can be increased\nup to 10 years. The increase in battery life enables developers much more\nflexibility to deploy devices in more and more remote locations and increases\nthe ways M2\/M\/IoT is being used. There are a variety of use cases for NB from\nsmart cars and bicycles to controlling appliances and smart meters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image Courtesy GSMA.com<\/em>
<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits\nof Narrow Band Technologies: <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n