Level 30

IoT Implementation — Modems, Power, Security, Certification

Engineer cellular IoT devices for real-world deployment. Master the modem ecosystem from Nordic, Quectel, u-blox, Sequans, and Telit; write and debug AT command sequences for attach, PSM, and eDRX; design for ten-year battery life with PSM, eDRX, and RAI optimization; secure devices with SIM, eSIM, iSIM identity, DTLS, OSCORE, and LWM2M device management; deliver firmware updates safely over the air; and navigate the GCF, PTCRB, FCC/CE/IC, and operator certification path that gets a cellular IoT product from prototype to global deployment.

20 interactive0 simulation4 labs4 quizzes

0/28 lessons

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Cellular IoT Modems & Software

0/7

The modem ecosystem (Nordic, Quectel, u-blox, Sequans, Telit, Murata), AT commands as the universal modem language, network attach and PSM/eDRX configuration via AT, vendor SDKs, and cloud connectivity from constrained devices.

Cellular IoT modem ecosystem — Nordic, Quectel, u-blox, Sequans

The major cellular IoT module vendors, their flagship parts, and how to choose for your design.

interactive3 min

AT commands — the universal modem language

Why AT commands have survived 40 years, the basic syntax, and the IoT-specific 3GPP TS 27.007 extensions.

interactive3 min

Registration via AT — attach, PSM, eDRX configuration

AT+CFUN, AT+CGDCONT, AT+CPSMS, AT+CEDRXS — the commands that bring a device onto a network with the right power profile.

interactive3 min

Modem SDKs — Nordic nRF Connect, Quectel QuecOpen, Sequans

Vendor SDK ecosystems beyond raw AT — open application frameworks, debuggers, and on-modem code execution.

interactive3 min

Cloud connectivity — MQTT, CoAP, HTTP/2 from constrained devices

Choosing the right application protocol for a cellular IoT payload — MQTT for telemetry, CoAP for constrained, HTTP/2 for richer.

interactive3 min

Lab: First connection — annotated AT-command sequence

Walk through every AT command from power-on through registration, IP attach, MQTT publish, and PSM entry.

lab5 min

Quiz: Cellular IoT Modems & Software

Test your understanding of the modem ecosystem, AT commands, and cloud connectivity choices.

quiz5 min

Power Optimization

0/7

The ten-year battery target in milliamp-hours, deep dive on PSM (Power Saving Mode), eDRX (extended DRX) configuration and trade-offs, RAI (Release Assistance Indication), Wake-Up Signal, and application-level patterns for ultra-low-power IoT design.

The 10-year battery target — what it means in milliamp-hours

How to convert a battery life requirement into per-day energy budget and per-transmission current draw constraints.

interactive3 min

PSM (Power Saving Mode) deep dive

How PSM lets a device sleep for hours or days while staying registered, and the timer parameters T3324 and T3412 that control it.

interactive3 min

eDRX (extended DRX) configuration and trade-offs

When eDRX wins over PSM — devices needing occasional downlink reachability without full sleep.

interactive3 min

RAI (Release Assistance Indication) and Wake-Up Signal

Two power-saving features that close connections faster and skip unnecessary paging — small wins that compound across millions of devices.

interactive3 min

Application design for ultra-low power — buffering, coalescing

Beyond the modem — how application logic determines whether you actually hit your battery target.

interactive3 min

Lab: Battery life calculation for an agritech sensor

Compute the actual energy budget for a soil-moisture sensor reporting twice daily and prove you hit the seven-year target.

lab5 min

Quiz: Power Optimization

Test your understanding of PSM, eDRX, RAI, and battery-budget engineering.

quiz5 min

Security & Device Management

0/7

SIM, eSIM, and iSIM device identity, 3GPP AKA authentication for cellular IoT, application-layer security with DTLS, OSCORE, and EDHOC, LWM2M for device management at scale, and FOTA (firmware over the air) for production fleets.

SIM, eSIM, iSIM — from physical to integrated

Three generations of SIM technology and why iSIM is the future of high-volume IoT identity.

interactive3 min

3GPP AKA authentication for cellular IoT

How a SIM-based device proves its identity to the network using shared keys and challenge-response — the bedrock of cellular trust.

interactive3 min

Application-layer security — DTLS, OSCORE, EDHOC

Datagram TLS, Object Security for Constrained RESTful Environments, and Ephemeral Diffie-Hellman over COSE for tiny devices.

interactive3 min

LWM2M for device management at scale

OMA Lightweight M2M — the standard protocol for managing millions of cellular IoT devices over their lifetime.

interactive3 min

FOTA — secure firmware over the air

Patching deployed devices safely — image signing, A/B partitions, delta updates, and rollback strategies.

interactive3 min

Lab: Designing a secure IoT bootstrap flow

Walk through the cryptographic and operational steps a fresh device performs from power-on to first secure server contact.

lab5 min

Quiz: Security & Device Management

Test your understanding of SIM identity, application security, LWM2M, and FOTA design.

quiz5 min

Certification & Production Readiness

0/7

GCF and PTCRB conformance certification, regulatory certification through FCC, CE/RED, and IC, operator-specific approval programs (Verizon ODI, AT&T, Vodafone), conformance vs interoperability vs field testing, and the cost and timeline of certifying a cellular IoT device for global deployment.

GCF and PTCRB — what they certify and why

The two major industry-driven cellular conformance schemes and the role each plays in a global launch.

interactive3 min

Regulatory certification — FCC, CE/RED, IC

Government-mandated approvals for radio devices in the United States, European Union, and Canada.

interactive3 min

Operator certification — Verizon ODI, AT&T, Vodafone

Why even a fully GCF/PTCRB-certified device still needs operator-specific approval before it can ship on certain networks.

interactive3 min

Conformance vs interoperability vs field testing

Three distinct test phases — what each catches, what it misses, and where IoT product launches typically slip.

interactive3 min

Cost, timeline, and roadmap for certifying a cellular IoT product

Realistic budgets and timeline for certifying an NB-IoT or LTE-M device for global launch.

interactive3 min

Lab: Building a certification roadmap for a smart meter

Sequence the GCF, regulatory, and operator certifications a smart-meter manufacturer needs to launch in three target markets.

lab5 min

Quiz: Certification & Production Readiness — Level Gate

Final level gate covering the full certification path and production-readiness considerations.

quiz5 min

IoT Implementation — Modems, Power, Security, Certification

20 interactive0 simulation4 labs4 quizzes