LTE-M SIM vs. NB-IoT SIM
LTE-M and NB-IoT are developed for IoT, but not suited to all use cases. This comparison table will guide you on the value that LTE-M SIMs or NB-IoT SIMs bring so you can decide which one fits better to your industry or use case.
| LTE-M SIM | NB-IoT SIM | |
|---|---|---|
| Uplink/Downlink | High (Mbits/s). LTE Cat M2 offers max 7 Mbit/s uplink and 4 Mbit/s downlink. | Low (kbit/s). LTE Cat NB2 offers max 159 Kbit/s uplink and 127 Kbit/s downlink. |
| Coverage/Penetration | Great coverage and penetration. | Great coverage and penetration. |
| Global availability | Great availability where LTE already exists. Built on existing LTE technology. | Good availability. Requires new infrastructure that is cheaper to roll-out than standard LTE. |
| Roaming capability | Good roaming availability. Check regions of interest. | Technically possible, but basically non-existent in reality. Check regions of interest. |
| Module costs | LTE-M modules are typically slightly more expensive than NB-IoT. | NB-IoT modules are typically slightly cheaper than LTE-M. |
| Power saving features | LTE-M standards support PSM and eDRX but availability depends on local networks. | NB-IoT standards support PSM and eDRX, but availability depends on local networks. |
| Mobility | LTE-M is suitable for static and mobile applications. | There’s no handover when moving with NB-IoT, making it best suited to static devices. |
| Remote provisioning | Supports SMS. Freedom to leave and eUICC (eSIM) remote provisioning are possible. | Typically no SMS support which is not good for eUICC (eSIM) remote provisioning freedom to leave (changing SIM operator). |
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