LTE Cat-M1 and CAT-NB1 are two new "5G" cellular standards that are "purpose built" for "IOT" or "Internet of Things". In plane English they are two new cellular standards designed for low data rates, low power and longer range, all things that are very helpful for connecting "things" such as our wireless sensors to the internet. Until now we have been using the existing cellular standards for 3G and 4G that are designed for connecting laptops and cell phones to the internet. While that has worked there is definitely room for improvement and that is why the new LTE Cat-M1 and CAT-NB1 standards were created. For most of our customers the longer range is going to be the most obvious benefit. The new LTE Cat-M1 and CAT-NB1 standards promise up to 7X the range of regular 4G LTE. For this reason we encourage our customers to use the new 5G modems where ever possible.
OmniSense plans to transition all of its products to this new standard "as soon as possible". The "as soon as possible" depends entirely on if the cellular carriers in your region have enabled the new standards on their networks. In the US for example Verizon has enabled the LTE Cat-M1 standard across their entire network. In Norway Telia as enabled LTE CAT-NB1 on some, but not all of their network. If you are ordering new equipment from us its in your best interest to use the new standards if at all possible. Check with your local cellular carrier before ordering from us to find out if they have enabled the new LTE Cat-M1 or CAT-NB1 standards. Note that we only need ONE of the two new standards to be enabled as we have a single MODEM that can support EITHER of these two new standards.
If you would like to upgrade your existing gateways to the new standard you can. We sell an upgrade kit that includes a LTE Cat-M1/CAT-NB1 USB MODEM, "patch" antenna, mounting hardware and instructions. If you are located in the US we will provide a Verizon SIM card. If you are located outside the US you will need to provide your own SIM card.
Please contact us for details.
As always if you have any questions just ask, we are here to help!
OmniSense plans to transition all of its products to this new standard "as soon as possible". The "as soon as possible" depends entirely on if the cellular carriers in your region have enabled the new standards on their networks. In the US for example Verizon has enabled the LTE Cat-M1 standard across their entire network. In Norway Telia as enabled LTE CAT-NB1 on some, but not all of their network. If you are ordering new equipment from us its in your best interest to use the new standards if at all possible. Check with your local cellular carrier before ordering from us to find out if they have enabled the new LTE Cat-M1 or CAT-NB1 standards. Note that we only need ONE of the two new standards to be enabled as we have a single MODEM that can support EITHER of these two new standards.
If you would like to upgrade your existing gateways to the new standard you can. We sell an upgrade kit that includes a LTE Cat-M1/CAT-NB1 USB MODEM, "patch" antenna, mounting hardware and instructions. If you are located in the US we will provide a Verizon SIM card. If you are located outside the US you will need to provide your own SIM card.
Please contact us for details.
As always if you have any questions just ask, we are here to help!
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