Meters (water, gas, electricity)
Tiny data, ten-year batteries, basements and meter pits: NB-IoT or LTE-M first — deep coverage and power saving matter more than speed.
55countries with LTE-M
65countries with NB-IoT
2NB-IoT/LTE-M closures on record
What matters
- Check whether the target country has NB-IoT or LTE-M networks, and whether any are closing
- For deep indoor and meter pits, favour low bands such as B8, B20 and B28
- Over a ten-year life, plan for network switch-offs and module end-of-life
Recommended technology
NB-IoT / LTE-M (Cat-M1); Cat 1 bis where there is no LPWA network
Recommended modules
| Model | Category | Countries good on every network |
|---|---|---|
| Nordic nRF9160 | LTE-M / NB-IoT | 30 |
| Quectel BG77 | LTE-M / NB-IoT | 30 |
| Quectel EG912U-GL | Cat 1 bis | 171 |
| Quectel EC200U-EU | Cat 1 bis | 151 |
Before launch
Other use cases
Trackers (assets, pets, people)POS payment terminalsIn-vehicle (telematics, fleets)Telemedicine (monitoring, consultations)Industrial robots (AGVs, cobots)Inkjet coders (connected production lines)Live video (backpacks, gimbals, body cameras)