Hardware

Specifications

The NB-IoT / Cat-M module is based on the Quectel's BG96 chipset. The module is managed by UART and it must be connected to socket 1 (direct connection, without Waspmote Expansion Board).

Model: BG96 (Quectel)

Frequency bands:

• Cat NB1 / Cat M1: LTE FDD: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B8/B12/B13/B18/ B19/B20/B25**/B26*/B28

• LTE TDD: B39 (for Cat-M1 only)

• EGPRS: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Data:

• Cat-NB1: Max. 32 kbps (DL), Max. 70 kbps (UL)

• Cat-M1: Max. 375 kbps (DL), Max. 375 kbps (UL)

• EDGE: Max. 296 kbps (DL), Max. 236.8 kbps (UL)

• GPRS: Max. 107 kbps (DL), Max. 85.6 kbps (UL)

SMS:

• Point-to-point MO and MT

• SMS Cell Broadcast

• Text and PDU Mode

GNNS: Embedded GNSS receiver. Supports GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou/Compass, Galileo and QZSS.

Antenna connectors:

• U.FL for main antenna (cellular)

• U.FL for GNSS antenna

External antenna: 5 dBi

Sensitivity:

• -113 dBm @Cat NB1, CE Level 0

• -107 dBm @Cat M1, 1.4 MHz Bandwidth, CE Mode A

SIM size: Nano-SIM (4FF standard) (not included)

Protocols: PPP/TCP/UDP/SSL/TLS/FTP(S)/HTTP(S)/NITZ/ PING/MQTT

Actions:

• Sending/receiving SMS

• TCP/IP and UDP/IP clients

• HTTP and HTTPS service (fully secured comms)

Certifications:

• GCF/Vodafone (Global)

• CE/Deutsche Telekom (Europe)

• FCC/PTCRB/AT&T/Verizon/T-Mobile*/Sprint* (North America)

• RCM/Telstra (Australia)

• IC/Telus/Bell* (Canada)

• Telefónica (Spain)

• JATE/TELEC/KDDI/SoftBank/DOCOMO* (Japan)

• KC/SKT/LGU+* (Korea)

• IFETEL (Mexico)

• IMDA (Singapore)

• NCC (Taiwan)

• CCC (China)

* Under Development **LTE B25 will be supported on BG96 with R1.2 hardware version.

Figure: NB-IoT / Cat-M module

How to connect the module

This module must be connected directly to the SOCKET1 on the Waspmote board. This radio does not need the Expansion Radio Board.

Figure: Module connected to Waspmote in SOCKET1

The SIM card size used in the NB-IoT / Cat-M module is nano-SIM (also known as 4FF standard). The next picture shows how the nano-SIM card must be plugged in the module.

Figure: SIM card installation in OEM version

Antennas

The NB-IoT / Cat-M module comes with one cellular antenna for improving the signal reception. Besides, a GNSS antenna is also included for the GNSS receiver.

Both antennas are the same model and can be used in any of the 2 antenna connectors. The module's silkscreen identifies the connectors. The operating bands of the dipole antenna go from 698 to 960 MHz and from 1710 to 2690 MHz. The maximum gain of the antenna is observed at 2.6 GHz: 3.4 dBi.

To get the maximum performance, it is recommended to place the antennas like that:

• The main cellular antenna should be in vertical position, pointing to the sky, in order to radiate better to the cellular base stations around.

• The GPS antenna should be in horizontal position, because the GPS satellite signal will come from above.

Figure: NB-IoT / Cat-M module antennas

To be certain of compliance with the New Zealand radiofrequency field exposure standard, the device should be mounted so that it is normally more than 20 cm away from users.