Ubiquitous global IoT connectivity
If it is reliable ubiquitous global IoT connectivity you need, then your only option is cellular-based technology – given that mobile carriers have built near 100% coverage of their networks in most countries around the world.
Cellular coverage is fairly ubiquitous around the globe, however, the current narrowband options for mobile carriers (NB-IoT and LTE-MLTE-Cat1M) are only available (for the most part) in certain areas of specific countries where carriers are trialing these technologies. In the few countries where either of these narrowband options have been rolled out successfully, such as the USA with AT&T, an enterprise should only consider using them if their business requirement is domestic, operating within the provided coverage bubble of the specific carrier. In North America, for example, if a business case is to track assets across the Mexican or Canadian borders, then choosing LTE-MLTE-Cat1M from AT&T may not be prudent, as there is no reciprocal bubble of connectivity available in these two countries, and if there was, roaming agreements for LTE-MLTE Cat1M would not necessarily be in place*.
*This post was originally authored in July 2018. There are now roaming agreements for M1 operators in Canada, the US, and Europe. AT&T has since launched LTE-M in Mexico.
u-blox – guaranteed ubiquity
u-blox offers the perfect solution for business cases where guaranteed ubiquity is important. We leverage cellular infrastructure to deliver low-power connectivity for guaranteed coverage applications, domestically and internationally, and enables a business to have peace of mind that their devices will simply just connect wherever GSM cellular coverage is available.
Global reach
As the only provider of truly global, low power IoT connectivity, u-blox’s IoT Communication-as-a-Service platform enables devices to simply connect to the strongest GSM network available, almost anywhere in the world and communicate using IoT Messaging – a unique combination of MQTT, USSD, and UDP messaging protocols over GSM and LTE Cat M1. u-blox enables global IoT connectivity – over 190 countries across 600+ networks.
This methodology not only takes the hassle out of connectivity but also brings benefits in terms of cybersecurity. The u-blox MQTT Anywhere GSM-based service doesn’t use the internet, so no IP = no cyber- risk.
On top of this, the u-blox Communication-a-a-service platform comes with embedded intelligence. It’s an MQTT-based network, not just a transport channel, thus removing the headache and costs of ‘how’ devices communicate.