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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

Open IoT Implementation — Modems, Power, Security, Certification free for 7 days

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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