Which IoT module to choose in China: picks by use case
China has 4 networks. On the same network-by-network verdicts: General 4G: the Quectel EG912U-GL (good on 4 of 4 networks); Battery-powered LTE-M / NB-IoT: the Quectel BG96 (good on 3 of 4 networks); 5G: the Quectel RG255C-GL (good on 4 of 4 networks). Our own devices: F40 4/4, Dongle 400 2/4, MF833V 2/4.
General 4G modules (Cat 1, Cat 1 bis, Cat 4)
| Model | Verdict by network | Good |
|---|---|---|
| Quectel EG912U-GL Cat 1 bis · global · Quectel | China Mobile ✔ Good China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✔ Good | 4 / 4 |
| SIMCom SIM7600G-H Cat 4 · global · SIMCom | China Mobile ✔ Good China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✔ Good | 4 / 4 |
| Quectel EG21-G Cat 1 · global · Quectel | China Mobile ◐ Limited China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✔ Good | 3 / 4 |
| Quectel EG25-G Cat 4 · global · Quectel | China Mobile ◐ Limited China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✔ Good | 3 / 4 |
| u-blox LARA-R6001D Cat 1 · global · u-blox | China Mobile ◐ Limited China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✔ Good | 3 / 4 |
Battery-powered LTE-M / NB-IoT modules
| Model | Verdict by network | Good |
|---|---|---|
| Quectel BG96 LTE-M / NB-IoT · global · Quectel | China Mobile ✔ Good China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ? To be confirmed | 3 / 4 |
| Nordic nRF9160 LTE-M / NB-IoT · global · Nordic Semiconductor | China Mobile ✔ Good China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ? To be confirmed | 3 / 4 |
| Quectel BG77 LTE-M / NB-IoT · global · Quectel | China Mobile ✔ Good China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ? To be confirmed | 3 / 4 |
| Quectel BG770A-GL LTE-M / NB-IoT · global · Quectel | China Mobile ✔ Good China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ? To be confirmed | 3 / 4 |
| Quectel BG95-M3 LTE-M / NB-IoT · global · Quectel | China Mobile ✔ Good China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ? To be confirmed | 3 / 4 |
5G modules (RedCap and full 5G)
| Model | Verdict by network | Good |
|---|---|---|
| Quectel RG255C-GL 5G RedCap · global · Quectel | China Mobile ✔ Good 5G China Telecom ✔ Good 5G China Unicom ✔ Good 5G China Broadnet ✔ Good | 4 / 4 |
| Quectel RM520N-GL 5G Sub-6 · global · Quectel | China Mobile ✔ Good 5G China Telecom ✔ Good 5G China Unicom ✔ Good 5G China Broadnet ✔ Good 5G | 4 / 4 |
Pocket Wi-Fi for travel (MiFi / UFI)
| Model | Verdict by network | Good |
|---|---|---|
| Huawei E5577-320 MiFi · Cat 4 · Pocket Wi-Fi with display · Europe, Asia and Middle East version · Huawei | China Mobile ◐ Limited China Telecom ◐ Limited China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✔ Good | 2 / 4 |
| Huawei E5576-320 MiFi · Cat 4 · Pocket Wi-Fi · Europe, Asia and Africa version · Huawei | China Mobile ◐ Limited China Telecom ◐ Limited China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✔ Good | 2 / 4 |
| TP-Link M7450 MiFi · Cat 6 · Pocket Wi-Fi · European version · TP-Link | China Mobile ◐ Limited China Telecom ◐ Limited China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✘ Not usable | 1 / 4 |
| TP-Link M7350 MiFi · Cat 4 · Pocket Wi-Fi · Europe and Asia-Pacific version · TP-Link | China Mobile ◐ Limited China Telecom ◐ Limited China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✘ Not usable | 1 / 4 |
Ready-made dongles and industrial routers
| Model | Verdict by network | Good |
|---|---|---|
| Teltonika RUTX12 (0*****) Industrial router · Cat 6 · Dual-modem industrial router · Europe, Middle East, Africa, Australia, APAC, Brazil, Malaysia · Teltonika | China Mobile ◐ Limited China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✔ Good | 3 / 4 |
| Teltonika TRB140 (1*****) DTU / Gateway · Cat 4 · DTU / industrial gateway · South America, Australia, New Zealand · Teltonika | China Mobile ◐ Limited China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✔ Good | 3 / 4 |
| USR IOT USR-DR154-E DTU · Cat 1 · Lipstick-size RS485 DTU · international version · USR IOT | China Mobile ◐ Limited China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✔ Good | 3 / 4 |
| Teltonika TRB140 (0*****) DTU / Gateway · Cat 4 · DTU / industrial gateway · Europe, Middle East, Africa, Korea, Thailand · Teltonika | China Mobile ◐ Limited China Telecom ◐ Limited China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✔ Good | 2 / 4 |
| Huawei E3372h-320 Dongle · Cat 4 · USB dongle · Europe, Asia-Pacific and most of the world · Huawei | China Mobile ◐ Limited China Telecom ◐ Limited China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✔ Good | 2 / 4 |
Hyper Nexus devices
| Model | Verdict by network | Good |
|---|---|---|
| F40 5G RedCap · Hyper Nexus dongle | China Mobile ✔ Good 5G China Telecom ✔ Good 5G China Unicom ✔ Good 5G China Broadnet ✔ Good | 4 / 4 |
| Dongle 400 LTE Cat 4 · Hyper Nexus dongle | China Mobile ◐ Limited China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✘ Not usable | 2 / 4 |
| MF833V LTE Cat 4 · Hyper Nexus dongle | China Mobile ◐ Limited China Telecom ✔ Good China Unicom ✔ Good China Broadnet ✘ Not usable | 2 / 4 |
Scored with the same method as third-party models, and said plainly where they do not fit. For a quote or samples, contact us.
Questions
Which IoT modules rate good on every network in China?
F40, Quectel EG912U-GL, Quectel RG255C-GL, Quectel RM520N-GL and SIMCom SIM7600G-H.
Which bands should a module support in China?
4G bands in use: B1 B3 B5 B8 B28 B34 B38 B39 B40 B41. The low-band coverage layer (rural and indoor signal): B5 B8 B28.
Is 5G RedCap available in China?
On the network verdicts, RedCap is available on China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom.
E-bikes and scooters: Cat 1 and LTE-M by country → · Pocket Wi-Fi for travel: the bands each country needs →
All networks and bands in China → · One SKU for several countries → · Check a whole BOM →
