LTE Cat0 for M2M Applications

This page describes LTE Cat0 for M2M applications. It covers LTE-M releases Cat-0 (Category-0), Cat-1, and LTE-M Cat-4.

About M2M

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the interconnection and autonomous exchange of data among devices, which are machines or machine parts. These features enhance user experience and increase system efficiency.

Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication is essential to support the emerging growth of IoT. M2M involves data communication among various devices without human interaction. This communication can occur directly or through a network, either between devices and a server or between devices themselves.

M2M applications are widely used in vehicle tracking, user and home security, banking, remote monitoring, and smart grids. Cellular communication has pioneered M2M services. ABI Research estimates that around 200 million cellular M2M modules were available by 2020.

About LTE

While 2G and 3G technology-based modules currently dominate cellular M2M, the rapid growth of LTE technology suggests that cellular M2M will soon be dominated by 4G technology-based modules.

The 4G standard supports both Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) topologies, both of which use a common sub-frame structure of 1 ms.

LTE technology was initially designed for high data rate broadband requirements. However, M2M applications typically require low data rates. Although M2M features were added in 3GPP Release-12, the LTE standard was not initially optimized to support the low data rate requirements of M2M devices such as sensors and smart meters.

The following M2M requirements are crucial for LTE-compliant networks, driving the success of LTE-M:

• Long battery life
• Wide service spectrum
• Low-cost connected devices
• Support for high device volumes
• Enhanced coverage

LTE-M Release 12 Optimizations for Cost

LTE Release-12 introduces a new device category (“Cat0”) that supports low complexity requirements. These device specifications are reduced to lower the cost and complexity of LTE-M:

• FDD in half-duplex mode: This eliminates the need for a duplex filter.
• Reduced receiver bandwidth: In LTE-M, the device receiver bandwidth is reduced to 1.4MHz, simplifying the LTE-M device.
• Single receiver chain: LTE-M devices incorporate a single receiver chain, eliminating the dual receiver chain required for RX diversity.
• Low data rates: Reduced memory and processing power requirements lower complexity and cost.

LTE-M Evolution Features

The following table summarizes the features of various LTE-M evolutions, including Rel-8 Cat-4, Rel-8 Cat-1, Rel-12 Cat-0, and Rel-13.