Cellular IoT

Detailed, practical guidance for implementing IoT cellular network connectivity solutions

Focusing exclusively on using cellular connectivity for IoT devices, Cellular IoT presents a flexible approach, using algorithms and software designs, to drastically reduce the complexity of interacting with a wide variety of Cellular Communication Modules (CCMs) which lie at the heart of cellular modems.

Written in an accessible style, this book is one of the first to cover all practical aspects of cellular network connectivity, from network and SIM selection through to custom algorithms for detecting and recovering from a wide variety of connectivity problems, and an innovative approach to reliably manage AT commands in modern cellular modems.

Factors related to establishing and maintaining cellular connectivity

Including geography and topology, population density, SIM card (and connectivity provider) selection, antenna choice and placement, and CCM selection.

Practical examples and troubleshooting advice

Showing how to transfer data using low-level sockets and also using a high-level protocol (HTTP), creating a brief, temporary connection for a primitive IoT device to send a small amount of data, and also establishing and maintaining a continuous cellular connection with full Internet access on powerful IoT devices running Linux.

Author expertise and included information

Written by an author with considerable professional expertise and experience with cellular connectivity, Cellular IoT includes information on:

Platforms, tools, and debugging

Covering tool-chain selection, computing/OS platforms, programming language choices, and running IoT connectivity code in a debugger.

Cellular network basics

Covering base stations, range, cell towers, tracking areas and paging, frequency and modulation, bandwidth and latency, frequency bands, and SIM cards.

Differences across CCMs

Including frequency, band, Radio Access Technology (RAT), protocol, and data representation, along with their selection and consequences.

Low-level communication protocols

Including transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), point-to-point protocol (PPP), and custom hybrids for cellular IoT.

Coverage of SMS, GNSS, and power saving functionalities

Including obtaining precise time, utilizing Extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX), and Power Saving Mode (PSM) available in NB-IoT, LTE Cat M, and LTE Cat 1 bis CCMs.

Innovative software approach: Command Independent Processing (CIP)

To systematically manage and execute AT commands across families of CCMs and integrating standardized (3GPP) AT commands with vendor-specific ones to achieve greater software portability across CCMs.

Cellular IoT is an essential resource for software developers, hardware engineers, and project managers seeking to avoid connectivity pitfalls and be better able to diagnose and resolve newly encountered challenges in the field while drastically reducing the time required to produce reliable, IoT connectivity solutions.