European machine-to-machine (M2M) enabler Telit this week announced a multi-constellation module—the GE310-GNSS—that will take advantage of near-universal and low-cost 2G coverage. The module, which can connect to Bluetooth 4.0 as well as GSM/GPRS, is designed to help keep costs down for OEMs and system integrators in areas such as asset management, utilities and telematics.
Despite the constant hype about 5G, many areas with network coverage aren’t even delivering 4G standards yet. And when it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT)—neither 4G nor 5G are even remotely necessary. The whole point of IoT is that for many applications, only a very small amount of data is transferred, marking 4G connectivity as excessive for such needs. In certain industries, it’s much more advantageous for IoT devices to connect across a larger geographical area. Even though 2G sounds outdated compared to the promise of 5G, Telit believes that in areas like Europe the technology actually provides a much more reliable and inexpensive option due to its now near-gapless coverage, which is ideal for large area-to-data-size ratio needs.
At least, this is the assumption that Telit is banking on with the release of its new GNSS. The module has a form factor of 270mm2 in an LGA 94-round-pad format, making it compatible with compact devices such as health and wellness monitors, smart residential and commercial thermostats, commercial fleets, and IoT connected grid equipment for smart utilities.
Even though Telit promises “multiple roadmap paths to upgrade to 4G and later to 5G,” it is predicted that 2G cellular IoT connections will continue to grow in Europe from 100 million in 2018, reaching a peak of 148 million connected devices in 2022.
"The GE310-GNSS is the newest in our lineup of updated 2G modules for markets like Europe and Latin America, which still show a sustained pull for over half a decade," said Yossi Moscovitz, president of products and solutions at Telit.
The market for 2G IoT devices is not expected to decline until the mid-2020s.
This week, Telit was also in the news for bringing one of Europe's first commercial smart metering deployments on a live LTE NB-IoT network. The module was deployed in collaboration with Swedish energy sector IoT product design company Comsel System.