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Level 29

Cellular IoT — NB-IoT, LTE-M, RedCap

Master cellular IoT for engineers building smart meters, asset trackers, agritech sensors, and connected industrial equipment. Compare NB-IoT, LTE-M, and RedCap deployment modes; understand 3GPP signaling for low-power devices; design coverage extension with repetitions and CE levels; analyze NTN-IoT for satellite connectivity over GEO/MEO/LEO constellations; and select the right technology for smart metering, asset tracking, agritech, and industrial monitoring use cases.

20 interactive0 simulation4 labs4 quizzes
0/28 lessons

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Cellular IoT Landscape

0/7

Why cellular IoT exists, tradeoffs between NB-IoT, LTE-M, RedCap and unlicensed alternatives, the 3GPP standards journey from Rel-13 to Rel-18, and how to map a use case to the right technology.

Why cellular IoT — connecting the next billion devices
The market drivers for licensed cellular IoT and why unlicensed alternatives fall short for many use cases.
interactive3 min
NB-IoT vs LTE-M vs RedCap — what each is for
Side-by-side comparison of the three 3GPP cellular IoT technologies and the use cases each was designed for.
interactive3 min
Cellular vs unlicensed — LoRaWAN, Sigfox, Zigbee
When licensed cellular wins over LoRa or Sigfox and when unlicensed alternatives are the better fit.
interactive3 min
3GPP standards journey — Rel-13 through Rel-18
How NB-IoT and LTE-M evolved through 3GPP releases and where RedCap and NTN-IoT fit in.
interactive3 min
Coverage classes and the IoT link budget
Why IoT requires 164 dB MCL, how repetition trades latency for coverage, and what a link budget looks like for deep-indoor sensors.
interactive3 min
Lab: Mapping a use case to the right cellular IoT technology
Walk through five real IoT scenarios — smart meter, fleet tracker, wearable, industrial sensor, voice-enabled alarm — and select the right air interface for each.
lab5 min
Quiz: Cellular IoT Landscape
Test your understanding of when each cellular IoT technology applies and how they differ from unlicensed alternatives.
quiz5 min

NB-IoT Deep Dive

0/7

NB-IoT deployment modes, single-tone physical layer design, random access procedure, Control Plane CIoT EPS Optimization for ultra-small data, and coverage extension via repetition with CE levels 0/1/2.

NB-IoT deployment modes — in-band, guard-band, standalone
How operators choose between coexisting with LTE in-band, using LTE guard bands, or deploying standalone in refarmed spectrum.
interactive3 min
NB-IoT physical layer — the 180 kHz carrier
Single PRB design, single-tone vs multi-tone uplink, NPSS/NSSS synchronization, and why narrowband matters for power.
interactive3 min
NB-IoT random access — NPRACH and attach
How NPRACH preambles work, the four-step random access procedure, and how NB-IoT attach differs from LTE.
interactive3 min
Data transfer — Control Plane CIoT EPS Optimization
Sending tiny payloads over NAS signaling without ever entering connected mode, and when User Plane CIoT optimization wins.
interactive3 min
Coverage extension — repetitions and CE levels 0/1/2
How NB-IoT achieves 164 dB MCL by repeating transmissions, the three coverage enhancement levels, and the latency cost.
interactive3 min
Lab: NB-IoT signaling trace inspection
Walk through a real NB-IoT attach + small-data-transfer trace and identify each NAS message and timer.
lab5 min
Quiz: NB-IoT
Test your understanding of NB-IoT modes, physical layer, attach, and coverage extension.
quiz5 min

LTE-M & RedCap

0/7

LTE-M (Cat-M1, Cat-M2) architecture, mobility and voice over LTE-M, the new RedCap (NR-Light) UE category in 5G NR, RedCap bandwidth and antenna restrictions, and decision-making between NB-IoT, LTE-M, and RedCap.

LTE-M architecture — Cat-M1 and Cat-M2
How LTE-M reuses LTE infrastructure with narrower 1.4 MHz / 5 MHz UE bandwidths and what Cat-M2 adds.
interactive3 min
LTE-M mobility, voice over LTE-M, and CIoT optimization
Why LTE-M supports full handover and VoLTE while NB-IoT does not, and how this changes use case fit.
interactive3 min
RedCap (NR-Light) — what makes it different in 5G NR
How Rel-17 introduced a reduced-capability UE class for 5G — sitting between full NR and NB-IoT in capability and cost.
interactive3 min
RedCap UE features — bandwidth, antennas, half-duplex
The specific RedCap UE feature reductions: 20 MHz BW (FR1), 1 RX antenna, half-duplex FDD, and reduced peak rate.
interactive3 min
Choosing between NB-IoT, LTE-M, and RedCap
A practical decision framework based on data rate, mobility, latency, battery target, and module cost.
interactive3 min
Lab: LTE-M and RedCap protocol trace inspection
Compare an LTE-M attach with mobility and a RedCap registration trace, identifying the capability negotiation differences.
lab5 min
Quiz: LTE-M and RedCap
Test your understanding of LTE-M categories, RedCap features, and technology selection.
quiz5 min

NTN-IoT & Industry Use Cases

0/7

Satellite IoT in 3GPP Rel-17 and Rel-18, Doppler and timing advance compensation for non-terrestrial links, the NTN-IoT ecosystem (Iridium, Skylo, AST SpaceMobile), and applied case studies in smart metering, asset tracking, agritech, and industrial monitoring.

NTN-IoT — satellite IoT in 3GPP Rel-17 and Rel-18
How 3GPP brought NB-IoT and NR over satellite into the standards, and why GEO and LEO constellations have different design implications.
interactive3 min
Doppler, timing advance, and large round-trip handling
The physical-layer challenges of satellite links and how 3GPP NTN compensates for them.
interactive3 min
NTN-IoT ecosystem — Iridium, Skylo, AST SpaceMobile
The commercial landscape — proprietary satellite IoT (Iridium), 3GPP NB-IoT NTN (Skylo), and direct-to-handset (AST).
interactive3 min
Smart metering — gas, water, electricity at scale
How NB-IoT became the de facto smart meter air interface, the typical link budget, and battery life targets.
interactive3 min
Asset tracking, agritech, and industrial verticals
Cold chain, fleet, livestock, soil sensors, and predictive maintenance — where each cellular IoT tech fits.
interactive3 min
Lab: Cellular IoT use case selection and link budget
Pick the right air interface for three real customer requests and build a link budget proving the choice.
lab5 min
Quiz: NTN-IoT and use cases — Level Gate
Final level gate covering NTN-IoT, vertical use cases, and end-to-end cellular IoT decision-making.
quiz5 min