LTE-M: Advantages and Disadvantages

This page explores the benefits and drawbacks of LTE-M (Long Term Evolution for Machine-Type Communications).

What is LTE-M?

Introduction:

LTE-M adheres to 3GPP specifications, similar to LTE technology. It stands for Long Term Evolution for Machine-Type Communications. It’s primarily designed to meet the objectives of cellular IoT devices, such as low device cost, deep coverage, longer battery life, and higher cell capacity.

LTE-M, along with NB-IoT, are two LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) technologies tailored for IoT applications. They facilitate the transmission/reception of small data packets using lower bandwidth at reduced costs. These technologies find applications in various sectors, including smart buildings/cities, healthcare, people/asset/animal tracking, and pollution monitoring.

LTE-M devices are categorized into Cat-0, Cat-M1, and Cat-M2, as defined by different 3GPP releases. LTE-M Cat-0, Cat-M1, and Cat-M2 follow 3GPP TS 36 series of rel.12, rel.13 and rel.14 respectively. The figure above illustrates the LTE-M system architecture and the necessary modifications from the standard LTE architecture. Cat-M1 features are highlighted in the table below.

LTE-M Cat-M1 Features

Benefits (Advantages) of LTE-M

Here are the key advantages of LTE-M:

• Low-bandwidth IoT Applications: Ideal for IoT applications requiring small data transfers using low bandwidth at low costs.
• Excellent Coverage: Provides particularly good coverage, especially in the USA.
• TCP/IP Connectivity: Uses TCP/IP, enabling connection to any server.
• Faster Data Rates: Offers faster data rates compared to some other LPWA technologies.
• Power Efficiency: Designed to be highly power-efficient, resulting in longer battery life for devices. Power-saving modes like PSM and eDRX further enhance battery performance.
• Easy Deployment and Interoperability: Easy to deploy and interoperable with existing LTE networks.
• High Capacity: Supports a large number of devices per cell.

Drawbacks (Disadvantages) of LTE-M

Here are the main disadvantages of LTE-M:

• Higher System Costs: System costs can be higher than some other LPWA technologies.
• No IPSec Integration: IPSec is not incorporated.
• IPR Risks and Certifications: Potential IPR risks and certification requirements can be concerns.
• Power Consumption During Firmware Upgrades: Carrier firmware upgrades can consume significant power.
• Not Suitable for Large Data Transfers: Not suitable for applications requiring large amounts of data.
• Lower Data Transfer Speeds: Doesn’t offer the very high-speed data transfer capabilities of other cellular technologies like 4G or 5G.