Integration Guide. A Comprehensive Guide to m2m Integration February Integration Guide

(1)

Integration Guide

A Comprehensive Guide to m2m Integration

February 2014

(2)

Page. 1

TABLE OF FIGURES

FIGURE 1–MAJOR VALUE CHAIN ELEMENTS IN AN M2M DEPLOYMENT AND DETAIL WITHIN EACH ELEMENT ... 6

FIGURE 2-LONDON STREETS WITH 5 STORY BUILDINGS GPS-ONLY VISIBILITY IN A 24 HOUR PERIOD ... 25

FIGURE 3- LONDON STREETS WITH 5 STORY BUILDINGS GPS+GLONASSVISIBILITY IN A 24 HOUR PERIOD.... 25

TABLE OF TABLES

TABLE 1-TELIT MODULE FAMILIES VS SPEED SELECTION GUIDE... 15

TABLE 2-TELIT MODULE FAMILIES VS CELLULAR SERVICE TYPE SELECTION GUIDE... 17

TABLE 3-TELIT MODULE FAMILIES VS SIZE SELECTION GUIDE ... 18

TABLE 4-TELIT MODULE FAMILIES VS OPERATING TEMPERATURE RANGE SELECTION GUIDE ... 19

(5)

Page. 4

Introduction

Welcome to this journey into Machine to Machine (m2m) communications, a set of enabling technologies which adds value and revolutionizes the business creation process with new models and revenue streams. m2m allows all types of electronics-based end-user devices and products to make a leap of usefulness. It delivers benefits to users by enriching existing and

new devices with connectivity to the Internet and to back office operations, by removing cumbersome wires which connect them to sensors, displays, and other peripherals, and by making them location aware.

These features, as simple as they look, enable a revolution in what end-user electronics can do. The value created by m2m and the benefits to consumers, drivers, patients, students,

professionals, and society as a whole, are yet seemingly unbound.

It follows, therefore that adopters of m2m, like you, come largely from outside the

telecommunications or positioning industries; and even more likely from outside of m2m. Adopting m2m as an enabler of value-add to a business is a daunting decision. Much

more so because companies and individuals making it understand and have been successful in their own industries and verticals, but generally lack the depth of knowledge to comfortably navigate the m2m space. Selecting the necessary providers for a complete m2m integration includes understanding our hardware, software, services, support, plus those key factors to consider for each and their relative importance.

So how do companies that have risen to success and stayed there in the harsh reality of present-day economy, with their razor-sharp focus on their core competencies and deep knowledge of their own verticals deal with the complexities of m2m in detriment of this focus?

In this guide we break-down the effort of integrating m2m connectivity into your devices starting from the very first adoption questions to deployment of your m2m capable devices and beyond into planning your next generation project. We believe that the best applications of m2m

enabling technologies are yet to be uncovered because companies like yours with extreme

knowledge of your markets and customers, may appreciate having this type of guide that takes you through the entire journey making your decision to adopt m2m an easier one to make. Let us get started.

(6)

Page. 5

What You Need to Know to Adopt m2m

Integrating cellular technologies such as LTE1_{, UMTS-HSPA}2_{, CDMA-1xRTT or EV-DO}3_,

and GSM-GPRS/EDGE 4_{into electronic devices and applications is a complex and}

daunting task. At least four major elements have to come together for a successful deployment.

Telit’s goal is to remove all barriers which can possibly distract you and deter you from

successfully launching your m2m connected device. We want to help you successfully start or strengthen your position in the “Internet of Things.” Figure 1 represents these areas again in more detail. To help streamline the integration process, we have structured a support

organization to accompany you cradle-to-grave with a full 360°perspective. Our different technical support groups can apply a number of tools and assets throughout all phases of your device’s life-cycle. Starting from module selection and acquisition; and going through integration engineering and design, to industrialization and to post launch. At here at this point is where we start looking not only after your devices but also after their connectivity with an expanded set of assets from our m2mAÍR business unit.

1_{LTE, Long Term Evolution – Acronym and name for the set of standards guiding the fourth generation of}

cellular wireless communication services

2_{UMTS-HSPA – Acronyms which refer to 3}rd_{generation cellular telephony voice and data respectively} 3_{CDMA-1xRTT or EV-DO – Acronyms referring to 2G and 2.5G cellular technology used mostly in the}

USA and Asia. 1xRTT and EV-DO are the 2G and 2.5G data standards where CDMA is generally taken to be the voice standard

4_{GSM-GPRS EDGE - Acronyms referring to 2G and 2.5G cellular technology used worldwide. GPRS}

(7)

Page. 6

Business Planning Using Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Instead of

Purchase Price Only

Traditional Purchase Price Modeling

Business case development for adoption of m2m has traditionally been done with an adaptation of traditional bill-of-materials (BOM)5_{plus refinement cost estimation employed in electronic}

component selection processes. As an example, a point of sale (POS)6_{terminal manufacturer}

developing an m2m connected variant of a product would take the BOM plus manufacturing

costs of the pre-m2m terminal, and add to that, the BOM of an m2m module, antenna, and other components necessary to complete the m2m enabled terminal with associated refinement costs. That would account for the total in variable costs for the business case.

Then some non-recurring expense (NRE)7_{would be considered to cover certification expenses}

and engineering design costs associated to the m2m integration.

In the vast majority of cases a module supplier are selected with the objective of minimizing these cost elements. OEMs have traditionally ignored elements pertaining to operating

costs due to complexity of modeling these costs out. This failure has left the task of

making things work economically to other players in the value chain, typically the vertical services provider. In the POS terminal example, the task of analyzing the

total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) and making decisions would be carried out by the payment services provider. Unfortunately for this group of companies, by the time they procure the m2m enabled POS terminal, their control over the business model going forward is already largely pre-defined by the cellular module inside. A number of constraints may already be imposed on the service provider which cannot be easily re-configured. For example, entering a new market previously unplanned, not served by cellular technology compatible with the particular POS terminal; or yet, an early end-of-life for the POS terminal caused by an upgrade required by the network operator which cannot be accommodated without a re-design of the terminal.

Whatever the issue, when you consider that, for most business cases, typical m2m device operating life range from 5 to 10 years and that physically touching a deployed m2m

device for maintenance is costly if not impossible, it is clear that downstream costs can easily surmount the impact of acquisition costs. Most of the exceptions to this rule come

5_{BOM – bill of materials is the tem used to refer to the complete list of components necessary for the}

assembly of an electronic device. BOM cost generally refers to the total cost a company pays for the list of components to build the device

6_{POS – Acronym referring to the term point-of-sale. In this context: electronic devices associated to}

processing a retail transaction such as a credit card reader, a smart cash register, etc.

7_{NRE is a term used in the context of business planning and finance to refer to one-time-expenses}

typically associated to R&D efforts necessary to bring a product to market.

Figure 1 – Major value chain elements in an m2m deployment and detail within each element

(8)

Page. 7

from application areas involving very high price devices such as medical imaging systems, high-end copy and printing systems, and other low-volume – high-cost items.

Total Cost of Ownership Modeling

As the m2m value chain becomes more integrated and dynamic, players down and upstream

from one another are likely to demand products and services that do not hinder each of their own ability to meet their business case requirements. They are likely to do this in a

manner where risk is shared more evenly throughout the chain. But this is only possible when all players work from a complete view of the total lifecycle of the m2m product. These are some of the elements which deeply impact the m2m device business case viability on a TCO

basis and which differ quite dramatically from the counterpart electronic component

acquisition-price model.

One-stop-shop – Whenever it is possible to source more than one element in a value chain from a single source, gains can be reaped from the perspective of vendor management, customer support and price flexibility. This is particularly important in

complex and/or long value chains and when the integrated product has a long service life, both of which are characteristics of m2m. Over the long term, price pressures squeeze

value chains eliminating players with smaller value contribution. This process is

known as consolidation and it is happening in m2m right now. At this juncture it should pay off to look at the players from whom you need to source products and services and mitigate risk of seeing some disappear by preempting the process and selecting one or a few which already occupy a broader section of the value chain. Go for the one-stop-shop model.

Long term availability – This is critical because m2m modules are not commodity products.

An unplanned interruption in the supply of your selected module would almost invariably translate into a redesign of your m2m enabled device unless it was designed to take modules from two or more different vendors, which is typically not an economically viable strategy for most applications, and a practice less and less used in the market. An unplanned, early redesign of an m2m application could translate into business failure particularly for start-ups or tightly funded businesses. And an interruption in cellular module supply is not as unlike as it seems.

Differently from traditional electronic components, cellular modules rely on base

technologies that move at a much faster pace than that of most industrial and commercial devices. This is due to the fact that this base technology is driven by the consumer cellular phone industry where the average device lifetime is taken to be in the 6 to 18 month range depending on the class of cell phone. There are a number of cellular module makers in the market that supply their products in line with immediate spot-market availability of cellular chipsets and when these are exhausted, so is the module. In a TCO evaluation you

should require that your module vendor or that the module inside the device you are considering can show a guarantee of availability for the life of your device and/or

(9)

Page. 8

business case. TCO also shows substantial net present value (NPV)8_{in selection of}

components for your device that are designed to bring technology enhancements to your device while maintaining backward compatibility in form factor and logical interfaces. Factors such as ownership of the intellectual property in key elements such as cellular protocol stacks can make it possible for new generations of modules to retain all of its predecessor’s attributes therefore eliminating the need for redesign and recertification of the application on your side.

Scalability and growth – You want to be successful. But your business plan likely requires

that you start slow and ramp up. It would be typical for your first generation device to be based on components that are compatible with low-volume manufacturing and logistics. But to be successful and achieve target returns on your investments developing your application and back office infrastructure, you must absolutely sure that you will be able to continue using them as your device sales grow. When you make a decision solely based on purchase price, you will find that you may need to reinvest in application development and support services to upgrade your device to match you sales growth ramp. In a TCO

evaluation the ability to ramp and scale easily with no additional investments has an enormous net present value impact which far offsets disadvantages in purchase price of the module.

Expansion into other markets – Unlike a regular electronic component, a cellular module

is very region-sensitive. Your business plan likely maps out where and when you will be deploying your devices. You will certainly be making sure that the module you select meets your business plan’s regional availability criteria. But because opportunities are

unpredictable, you may find yourself needing to deploy your product in a market you did not originally have in your forecast. Alternatively you may find that the original plan to deploy in a certain region would be better accomplished if you could use another technology than the one you planned. A high net present value impact in a TCO evaluation is associated with this flexibility. Make sure your module provider can canvas as many technologies as

possible without requiring that you redesign your device or your service.

Mitigate the risk of betting on any given cellular technology – Another major element

bearing substantial net present value in a TCO evaluation is the ability to mitigate the risk of betting that your selection of a cellular technology will be the best and most viable for the entire life of your product. Selecting a module vendor that can buffer you from the

cellular technology risk by providing you one or five years from now another variant of the same module form factor in a different, more suitable technology for your needs will immensely impact the resilience of your business plan.

Quality - A standard mobile phone plant where cellular modules are typically manufactured

tolerates defects in the neighborhood of several hundreds to thousand parts per million

8_{NPV – net present value is the business planning and finance term used to refer to the tangible value}

today in terms of money, of a financial impact which is forecast to affect a business plan over the course of time, typically several years.

(10)

Page. 9

(PPM). This is the industry benchmark and accepted quality level; however, this is NOT where your business plan requires you to be for viability and success. A solid supplier should be expected to adhere to a zero PPM goal and actually delivery quality around 10 PPM with field returns less than 50 PPM. This means that any cellular module going into your design must be manufactured to a different standard. When you start looking at how

failures and defects in the field affect your business plan, you will quickly realize just

how much TCO impact module quality has on your financial success.

Operating Costs – This is certainly the largest, most impactful element in integration of

m2m. Different business plans are more or less sensitive to the cost of managing and running the device once deployed. As an example, an armored vehicle transporting high-value content in an urban environment has a lot higher tolerance to such costs than a connected residential meter. In a TCO evaluation, it is critical to have clear and full

visibility of all cost elements that have any chance of becoming recurring in the life of your device. These have to be scrutinized, understood, and fully rationalized. It is quite

common for the face-value of price-per-kilobyte9_{to be the sole deciding factor in an}

operating cost calculation. But in the vast majority of cases, the inaccuracies in this estimation model result in business plan failures. In the long operating life of an m2m connected device, things like seasonality of operation common in assets that are active for a few months out of the year; field service avoidance – when you can diagnose and fix a problem over the air instead of taking the cost of field service visit; and others need to be considered thoroughly. What you find in most cases when you take these factors into

account is that the choice of a lower price/kilobyte provider might in fact be entirely the wrong one to make.

Vendor Selection Criteria in the Mature m2m

In line with long term availability is of course the longevity of the module manufacturer itself. It does not bode well for the industry that the average lifespan of most m2m module companies is below that of most device business plans. Module vendor evaluation criteria should among

other things include a review of the likelihood that the module vendor will remain viable for the life of your product. And not only in existence, but also operating in the core

business10_{of m2m or the Internet of Things (IoT) since many have recently become non-core}

businesses11_{s within larger electronic industry conglomerates. Many with core focus on other}

9_{Price-per-kilobyte, or price/kilobyte refers to common charging practice by connectivity services provider}

where the user pays typically monthly an amount in direct proportion to data consumed, or a minimum subscription fee if no data was consumed for the period.

10_{Core business – refers to the most important and vital line of business operated by a company in the}

market. One without which the company is no longer viable or a going concern.

11_{Non-core business – refers to lines of business a company may carry but which are not vital to the}

short term viability of the company. These can be business lines used to help amortize investments on the core business, or those a company may be investigating to shift into at a later time, particularly when the core business has lost long term viability.

(11)

Page. 10

industries entirely. In this section we provide you a number of key qualification dimensions for you to consider in your module vendor evaluation.

Of course, the module you select should meet your technical and budgetary requirements; however the following are key considerations that should help decision makers in their selection process:

Market Research

– Understanding the market and the competitive position of the

different suppliers is a very important step towards making the right decision. There are several m2m focused market research firms providing an accurate picture of the past performance of the different suppliers (based on actual figures) as well as good forecasts. Choosing a market leader over a small player will minimize your risk. Hint: ask any potential supplier to provide the latest market research summary.

Transparency

– You are entitled to know everything about your potential supplier before you make a decision. Publicly traded companies provide accurate

(and audited) information on all relevant aspects of their business. When analyzing private companies, decision makers should request and receive the same level of transparency. Attempts to avoid disclosure of information (“we are private and therefore cannot disclose…”) should raise serious suspicion. Hint: ask your candidate suppliers to provide the latest audited financial report.

Financial stability

– The long term stability of your m2m supplier is critical to the success of your business. Therefore, read carefully the financial statements of

potential suppliers. Companies showing poor financial performance (not profitable, declining revenues, lack of financial resources) should be considered high risk.

Companies that are not willing to provide audited financial information should similarly be considered as major risk. As complicated as it is to obtain this information from large conglomerates that do not report results of individual divisions you should still be able to see division financials under a non-disclosure agreement.

Company size

– The m2m market requires significant levels of investment for sustained development of next generation products, maintenance of current products and customer support. Small companies and new market entrants do not

have sufficient resources and sales volume to support such investments. Market leaders have a significant advantage from that perspective.

R&D spending

– R&D spending indicates the real value of the products you are buying. Each “dollar” spent in R&D directly adds to the performance, stability, functionality, reliability, certifications of the product you are buying. Ask your

potential suppliers about their annual R&D budgets and how many people they employ in R&D.

(12)

Page. 11

Local presence

– The m2m industry is spread over five continents. Doing business in your language and in your time zone is an advantage. A true global m2m supplier

should be able to support you anywhere any time.

Have you visited your m2m module supplier?

– We live in a virtual world. If

you surf the web sites of your candidate suppliers you will always find the statement: “XYZ is a leading global supplier of m2m modules…” From that perspective they all seem on equal footing. Vendor or supplier selection is however a very “real world”

activity and requires interaction with the “real” people involved. “Seeing is

believing”. If you want to make the right decision go visit your candidate supplier, check the facilities, talk to the people, and see the production lines. Then, make your decision. Hint: spending $3,000 on a trip can spare you from making a wrong decision.

Breadth as well as Depth of Offerings

– There is much to be said for a vendor

that can deliver as much of the m2m value as possible. Take the example of the not too dissimilar Internet service provider (ISP) model. Customers can contract services as well as hardware from these businesses. When they do, any issue with their service is only one phone call away. Customers buying the access, services (such as support, e-mail, hosting, etc.) and hardware from different sources may run into the situation of having to go back and forth between providers to solve their problems. If this is your home ISP and you cannot open your favorite web-page, it may be nothing more than an inconvenience. In a business setting this is a potential catastrophe. Despite

concentrated effort, it is possible that different providers of such tightly coupled value elements as m2m modules, connectivity, and value added services, will take longer to resolve an issue than if a single vendor was providing you all of it.

Perhaps that lengthy resolution time is longer than your business can bear. Evaluate carefully how sensitive your business is to this risk element before making your service supplier selection.

Quality of Partnerships

- Your m2m suppliers must adopt some of the same or similar criteria in selecting their own partners and suppliers as you do in selecting yours. Be sure that your m2m vendor is using top of the market, quality suppliers.

Determining what m2m Hardware Your Application Will Need

Integrating m2m generally entails adding to the target device one to all three of the following functionalities:

Wide Area Wireless Networking

– Adding this functionality is generally

accomplished by integrating a suitable cellular module in the target electronic device. This process is undertaken by integrators wishing to replace a wired Internet connection or to

(13)

Page. 12

add wireless connectivity to an electronic device. With the nearly total coverage of

cellular and recent improvements in the way cellular m2m services deliver a working and connected device without the traditional hurdles and steep learning curves, many

applications that have shied away from its use are now fully cellular connected. A major architecture migration is under way where commercial and industrial devices connected via Wi-Fi to a site access point are having that connectivity replaced by a cellular module which directly connects to the Internet or VPN, or other IT Service infrastructure. This architecture is much preferred because among other things, it is immensely more available than its Wi-Fi or local wired counterpart. Credit card operators have been systematically replacing their Wi-Fi and hardwired swipe terminals worldwide with cellular connected ones because of the issue of availability. When wired or Wi-Fi Internet in a commercial establishment becomes unavailable credit card charging stops and is not replaced. The revenue is lost forever because customers are made to pay by cash or check or simply give up the purchase. Credit card operators have modeled the loss and found that even bearing the full cost of total replacement of the installed base of Wi-Fi or wired terminals with cellular plus

connection charges still makes the operating model far more profitable than its predecessor.

Like credit card readers, there are numerous application areas where the advantages of cellular-based wide area networking are unmatched.

Short-to-Long Range RF Communication

– This functionality is sought by integrators needing to connect an electronic device to one or more peripheral devices physically near the main device. For example a weather station wired to temperature, atmospheric pressure, and humidity sensors can be made to communicate to these sensors wirelessly. A health monitoring device might be connected via this short range wireless technology to wearable sensors on the person under monitoring. Other application areas rapidly adopting short range radio communication are those where the cost of the cellular module plus cellular connection charges and activation fees at every node destroy the business plan for the application. One such area is residential utility meter reading. Price points for application of cellular at each meter only make the numbers for large commercial and industrial utility customers. But if instead of applying one cellular module at each household, utilities could apply one every few dozen, then the ROI would make the grade. That becomes possible with short range communication. These modules operate in

license free bands available in different frequency bands worldwide, cost significantly less per unit than the cellular modules and the connectivity is free of charge. There

are several emerging short range standards that are self-configuring and self-organizing. In continental Europe utilities are adopting the wireless M-bus standard with a number of large projects already started or in the pipeline. Elsewhere ZigBee is getting substantial traction.

Whatever the standard, the need to communicate wirelessly with objects in a local network is critical. IPv6 and other major Internet and big-data standards were conceived to take on the volume of these tiny devices.

Positioning

– Now that you can connect to your device, the first question you are likely to ask it is where are you? As strange as it seems, even behemoth seemingly unmovable devices like bank ATM machines are equipped with a positioning system. Once the cord is

(14)

Page. 13

cut, information about where something is becomes as, if not more important than what it is doing. Cellular m2m communication and positioning are inseparable

functionalities. In fact Telit has for many years had a number of cellular modules with built-in positioning functionality. As positioning becomes more prevalent, the demands placed on this technology increase resulting in the explosion of solutions we see today. The question

is no longer if you will integrate positioning in your device, but what type. And the

answer to that question is becoming less obvious then it once was. GPS is no longer a synonym to positioning.

Whatever the combination of these three elements you require, Telit’s consultative selling function can assist you through the process of planning your m2m integration.

This function is headed up globally by global sales directors who are experts in system integration projects in the various vertical segments including automotive and energy and are entirely familiar with specifics of your industry including standards, trends, requirements, making the dialog efficient and productive from the start.

Selecting an m2m Cellular Module

In the vast majority of cases, the cellular module is the most difficult component selection to make in the process of integrating m2m into an electronic device, closely followed by antennae. This is due to not only to the fact that, as electronic components go, the cellular module is typically the most expensive of the BOM but also because it is likely requiring the most scrutiny and research by the integrator. Even very complex electronic components such as

microprocessors do not have such a large number of elements to be evaluated in a selection process. These are key considerations in module selection.

Data Speed

Cellular data transmission speeds go up from 2G where GPRS speeds are rated in a few tens of Kbps to the current release of LTE (4G) of 100 Mbps (See table 1). There are a number of tradeoffs with speed. The most obvious is cost. The higher the connection speed you require, the higher the price of the module and associated connectivity data plans. But there are other important engineering tradeoffs to consider.

Speed vs. Power – as transmission speeds rise, so do power requirements – typically. Even

though the consumer market has put a lot of pressure on technology providers to create

technology solutions to allow high-resolution video streaming into battery powered devices, and this research has allowed m2m module vendors to launch more energy efficient modules with every chipset generation. By-and-large the power required to raise balanced Tx/Rx12_{rates will}

go up proportionally. However because most of the demand for high speed in the consumer world comes from mobile video, the power is largely being spent by the cell tower which is broadcasting the stream. In fact, in this scenario, the smartphone is actually spending most of the energy on processing power to decode the video stream and to drive brightness

(15)

Page. 14

color-depth and resolution displays, not on radio energy generation. The fact remains that the

laws of physics ultimately take over, and if your device will be doing more sustained transmitting in high data rates, it will consume substantial power. It is important to model

your full two-way data flows in normal operation of your device. It is not atypical for your cellular module to consume multiple watts of power to sustain Mbps data transmissions upstream. Something else to keep in mind is that cellular technology includes protocols for Tx13_power

setting at the mobile end. As you move farther from a cell tower, the protocol which is beyond control or reach of your application, will determine that the module will have to ratchet up Tx power to remain in contact with the cell-tower. So your upload session which started at a certain power consumption level may end at a very different one, and there is nothing your application can really do about it.

Speed vs. Antenna Complexity – With the antenna being by far the most complex component

in the cellular integration after the module, higher data rates also translate into more complex antennae design requirements. The well-developed antenna industry is hard at work leading edge technologies like the software defined antennae14_{which will make life much easier for}

integrating top speed technologies like LTE. But until these are readily available at reasonable prices, integration will remain a challenge. This is due to two driving factors. The first is of course, physics. If you are going to put up a radio station (your module and its antenna) to broadcast 50 Mbps of data upstream over radio in the microwave spectrum, you had better know a thing or two about RF fields and waves theory. Unless your company calls RF

engineering one of its core competencies, this is a very good piece of your project to outsource, since complexity is far too high for you to justify the investments necessary to build-up adequate in-house resources to tackle it. You should also keep in mind that this is the item at the top

of the scrutiny list for certification of your device with cellular operators and regulatory authorities of most countries. Off the shelf antenna solutions will work fine for most 2G and

even common 3G applications. You will need to spend a good amount of time on your antenna selection with 4G.

The other factor driving up complexity is frequency band proliferation. In 2G the world

was very well contained with four frequency bands. Modules and antennae were efficiently designed and streamlined for easy integration into most any application. With 3G, band counts rose and so did antennae complexity. At this point it became nearly impossible for one single antennae design to be compatible with all 3G cellular bands used worldwide. And with 4G of course this is totally impossible since frequency bands are found from 700MHz to 3800MHz. No single antenna design can ever work efficiently and pass certification testing in this broad a range of frequencies. So with 3G and 4G applications you will need to carefully consider creating a number of regional variants of your product, each applying a different and certifiable antenna design.

13_{Tx refers to one-way data transmission from the device}

14_{Software defined antenna is an innovation in antenna technology where arrays are created using}

individually controlled pixels. The antenna aperture is the group of very small software activated pixels from the array.

(16)

Page. 15

Please keep in mind that Telit works with a number of competence centers worldwide and has a network of partner certification laboratories both of which we strongly encourage most m2m integrators to engage with in various aspects of the m2m integration process, but particularly antenna design.

It is important to understand that rated speeds for the different cellular module

technologies are typically theoretical values, based on ideal transmission over the air and through the wired back-haul from the cell towers. If you are adopting a particular

technology mainly because of its rated top speed and your speed requirements are critical and very close to the rated speed of the m2m module, you may want to run a strong field trial program. That will help you determine form real world data if you need to upgrade your module specification to the next technology up. Observed sustained transmission speeds will vary widely based on time of day, location, network provider and a number of other elements very hard to account for in a reasonable model.

2G GPRS (Class 10) 2.5G 1xRTT 2.5G EDGE (Class12) 2.75G 1xEV-DO 3G HSPA 3.5G HSPA+ 3.9G DC/HSPA+ 4G LTE Down Rate 80 Kbps 153.6 Kbps 236.8 Kbps 3.1Mbps 7.2 Mbps 21 Mbps 42 Mbps 100 Mbps Up Rate 40 Kbps 153.6 Kbps 236.8 Kbps 1.8Mbps 5.76 Mbps 5.76 Mbps 11.5 Mbps 50 Mbps xE863 X X xE864 xC864 X X X15 Gx865 X x24 X X X x30 X

xE910 X X X X X16 _X _Concept _Concept

xE920 X X X X

Table 1 - Telit Module Families vs Speed Selection Guide

Service and Connectivity Coverage

In 2012 there were over six billion cellular subscriptions worldwide from the perspective of technology distributed over essentially five types of cellular service providers

GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WCDMA (UMTS)/HSPA, CDMA/1xRTT/EV-DO, TD-SCDMA (Asia only), and LTE. Other very regional and low density technologies still in operation are not likely candidates for m2m integration. TD-SCDMA is popular for handsets in Asia but practically inexistent in m2m.

15_{Only down rate}

(17)

Page. 16

So for m2m it really boils down to three services because WCDMA/HSPA is essentially 100% deployed over GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks worldwide and because of its ubiquity it is surfacing as a great candidate in many regions to take over from less spectrally

efficient GSM/GPRS/EDGE and CDMA technologies (See Table 2).

If you are only now starting in m2m integration, your decision is a much easier one to make. Prices for HSPA modules are conducive to adoption in most application business cases. CDMA products, either 1xRTT or 1xEV-DO, are also popular choices in Asia and North America

because of prices and stated commitment by operators to continue running the networks for at least 10 more years.

There are three key considerations when deciding about the service branch you are going to adopt.

The first is coverage and availability in your target regions for deployment. This applies mostly for North America and Asia since CDMA does not densely cover any other region of the globe. As noted above, WCDMA/HSPA today enjoys nearly as much geographical and population coverage 17_{as GSM/GPRS/EDGE. And in fact will soon boast a larger footprint than GSM}

when U.S. carriers start sun-setting18_{their GSM/GPRS service. In North America}

CDMA/1xRTT-EV-DO is a very viable alternative with every bit as much geographical and population coverage as GSM.

Next is the availability of the service which you need to ensure is guaranteed by network operators in your target regions for at least as long as you need your product to remain in service before it is replaced by a next generation or is taken out of commission for some other reason in your business plan. If your product is incorporating a 3G module, this is less of an issue since 3G networks are likely to remain in operation well into the next decade if not longer. This consideration becomes critical and passive of much scrutiny if you are integrating 2G technology. Most 2G service around the world is likely to remain in operation for the next

10 years, but there is much talk, particularly in the U.S., about an accelerated sun setting of the services so that operators can re-allocate the spectrum used in 2G for 3G and LTE.

In any case, this is a decision to be made with sufficient information which you must obtain from all service providers you would be considering for your deployment.

Then there is of course: cost. CDMA modules which had traditionally been more pricey have shed much of the difference in pricing with comparably featured GSM modules making for an easier decision based on the much more important recurring costs of service and connectivity. Foremost you should carefully consider roaming costs if you have to deploy across geographies

17_{Population coverage is a number communicated in terms of percentage of total and refers to the}

cellular service coverage with respect to population rather than geography. It is possible for population coverage numbers to be very high even with low geographical coverage.

18_{To sun set a service means to discontinue it permanently. It is a term normally used in the context of}

(18)

Page. 17

not covered by one single provider. You should try and secure an agreement form a service

provider able to extend services for all your geographies without a roaming surcharge.

GSM/GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA-UMTS-HSPA CDMA/1xRTT/1xEV-DO LTE xE863 X xE864 xC864 X X Gx865 X x24 X X x30 X xE910 X X Concept xE920 X X

Table 2 - Telit Module Families vs Cellular Service Type Selection Guide

Physical Dimensions

Another critical element in deciding which module to select is its size and sometimes, weight.

Telit has some of the industry’s most compact packaging of cellular m2m technology

(See Table 3). The general rule for size selection in electronics is to go with as large a package as your device allows. Very compact electronics are less able to dissipate the heat they

generate in operation and therefore may require additional engineering around heat dissipation strategies. This may be entirely avoided if you proceed with a less compact

product that still meets your design dimension parameters.

Something else to consider is the flexibility of one form factor over another. In Telit’s case, the

most flexible selection of a form factor is the xE910. This is due to the availability of most

all technologies and regional frequency band variants of any other model. So if your design requires wide flexibility in deployments determined by speed, carrier, or region, the best course of action would be to design in the xE910 family.

Telit’s smallest cellular module is the GE865-QUAD. It is a quad-band GSM/GPRS BGA product designed for use in very small devices such as watches, wearable technology and handheld gadgets.

Another tradeoff besides the heat dissipation issue noted above is manufacturing yield.

Component placement on the PCB19_{and other design elements can affect the yield when your}

device goes into manufacturing. Manufacturing of very compact designs require special equipment and methods. Let Telit help you with a review especially if your design is very compact.

19_{PCB refers to printed circuit board, a substrate with many layers of conductor-vias connecting}

electronic devices following an electronic circuit schematic. Electronic devices are soldered to one or both sides of the board.

(19)

Page. 18 Smallest

to Largest

Length (mm) Width(mm) Height

(mm) GE865 22 22 3 GL865 24.4 24.4 2.6 xE910 28.2 28.2 2.225 xE864 30 30 2.8 x30 40 24.4 3.5 xE920 40 34 2.8 xE863 41.4 31.4 3 x24 45.2 24.4 5.8

Table 3 -Telit Module Families vs Size Selection Guide

Power Consumption

It is very important to understand what power consumption means for cellular modules. When a

module is engaged in a data or voice Tx session, the power it consumes is essentially dictated by the broader cellular standard. Each cellular technology (GPRS, CDMA, etc.)

specifies classes of Tx power. And because this is part of the standard with which your device will need to comply to receive certification from regulators and networks, you have very little flexibility changing it. In other words: if GPRS class 4 Tx power is rated at 2W, neither your design nor your application will have the opportunity to change that. Your PCB design should

always ensure that conductors supplying power to the module are dimensioned adequately to handle the maximum sustained current required by the module at the highest Tx class. The Design Review Service is an opportunity you should take full

advantage of to check this aspect of your Schematic and PCB design.

If your design is to be powered by battery, the critical dimension of the module power specification is its standby or sleep mode current. Telit modules based on the latest

generation of chipsets such as the GL86-DUAL V3 have ultra-low standby current

requirements. This is critical because in the vast majority of m2m applications, the module is in

standby mode for most of the time. You should carefully model out your device’s real-world use to determine your battery size. This is a critical step when integrating battery powered systems because even a slight deviation in the amount of time the module stays ON from your estimate can cause your battery life drop significantly because the current levels consumed in regular operation are orders of magnitude higher than standby. For example, at Idle mode (DRX=9) the GL865-DUAL V3 drains less than 1mA and 330 mA when in Tx GPRS Class 10 (2 timeslots).

Environmental Operating Conditions

The environment where your device will need to operate is of extreme importance when

selecting a cellular module. Because most of the low-end modules are essentially recycled

handset designs, they will operate inside certified parameters only when inside the range you would expect the average smartphone to operate which is about 0°C to about 35°C.

There is substantial engineering that goes into making modules operate in commercial, industrial, automotive and outdoor environmental conditions. Make sure you understand what

(20)

Page. 19

the full environmental exposure for your device is and model out what that exposure represents for the module integrated inside your device. Most of Telit’s modules are rated for what is known as extended operating temperature range for electronic components which is -40°C to +85°C (See Table 4).

It is very important that you model the real-world operation of your device and keep in mind that the modules do generate a lot of heat in any Tx mode but particularly in high-power Tx modes.

The design of your device’s heat dissipation strategy should account for the possibility that the module may be required to stay in a high-power Tx class while outdoor in the heat of a sunny summer day, or other possible environmental extreme determined by the application. Also note that the modules are designed to operate without heat sinks so most of

the module’s heat dissipation is done through its mounting solution to the device PCB.

Operating temperature range is the most fundamental environmental consideration, but certainly not the only one. Shock and vibration also have significant impacts on the operation of

your device. These two elements should be taken into consideration when you select the type of mounting for the module onto your device. Modules with connectors are not

recommended for high-vibration applications but they perform generally better then soldered models in high-shock situations because of additional fastening with screws bolts or rivets which normally accompany a connector mounting.

For high vibration environments, the smaller - the better for the module: the smaller mass of the module places less acceleration stress on its mounting points.

But a large module like the LE920, which is designed for automotive applications, achieves

high resistance to vibrations and impact by applying a sparser ball grid array affording more solder surface, distributing acceleration stress over wider areas and therefore, more than adequately offsetting its larger mass. Additionally with the larger solder surfaces,

more heat is transferred from the module to the device PCB responsible for most of the heat conductance away from the module. The LE920 form factor was designed for operation in the harsh environment of automotive electronics where high vibration and shock typically

accompany operation in extreme high and low temperatures.

Smallest to Largest Low Temperature (°C) High Temperature (°C)

Gx865 -40 +85 xE910 -30 +85 xE864 -40 +85 X30 -40 +85 xE920 -40 +85 xE863 -40 +85 X24 -20 +75

Table 4 -Telit Module Families vs Operating Temperature Range Selection Guide

Embedded GNSS

Because awareness of the device’s position is as much a key factor as the cellular

(21)

Page. 20

GNSS receiver can be beneficial and should be considered, particularly if the combined module can deliver more features and benefits than each separately. Besides saving PCB space in

your device, a combo cellular+GPS module allows your application to manage the cellular and GNSS modules as a single entity through a simple and unified AT command set. It is a simplification step particularly important for integrators with more modest engineering

resources or needing to remain clearly focused on the functionality of the application rather than m2m during the integration process. Adoption of a cellular+GNSS combo module can save time and resources in the integration process.

In fact, the simplification in the integration effort is so tangible that even if the cost of the combination cellular+GNSS were slightly higher than the sum of the two components, it would still make the necessary ROI. Furthermore, the only real reasons to avoid the route of the combination module would be: 1) your technical requirements for the GNSS module cannot be met by any combination module; and 2) you would need to control the two components

individually for power management or other reasons.

Telit provides several cellular+GNSS combined solutions, with 2G, 3G, and 4G cellular modules across different form factors, which are ideally suited for those location based applications in mobile environments, requiring accurate positioning information besides cellular connectivity, such as telematics, fleet management and personal/asset tracking

(See Table 5). Furthermore the binding of the cellular modem with the satellite receiver enables fixes even in indoor environments thanks to assisted GPS capabilities and other hybrid

technologies as offered by Telit’s m2mLOCATE service.

GPS GPS+GLONASS m2mLOCATE xE863 HE863 xE864 xC864 GE864 CC864, UC864 GE864 Gx865 X X24 H24 X X30 X

xE910 GE910, HE910, GE910, HE910

V2, DE910

X

xE920 LE920, HE920 X

Table 5 -Telit Module Families vs embedded GNSS/Location Technology Selection Guide

Special Certifications

Certain application areas require that the m2m module like other electronic components that integrate the device, comply with certain safety or quality standards. Telit also manufactures

(22)

Page. 21

certain products specifically for the OEM20_{automotive industry. This industry requires}

that products sold into its supply chain be developed and manufactured in a certain way. The set of rules and guidelines establishing how this is done is known as ISO/TS16949 21_.

If your integration requires ISO/TS16949 certified product supply, please discuss your needs with your Telit representative. Currently the following Telit cellular modules are available with this certification GE864-QUAD – Automotive, UC864-E-AUTO, HE920, and LE920.

Manufacturing Constraints

If your device is slated for large scale manufacturing, you must consider giving priority to modules which are available for automated manufacturing and compatible with pick-and-place22

manufacturing lines. All of Telit’s BGA23_{and LGA}24_{modules can be accommodated into}

high-volume lines. A pre-production phase review of your manufacturing strategy with the Telit

technical support team can help reduce your ramp-up time significantly from a yield perspective. Manual or semi-automated assembly strategies are better served by modules with connectors or LCC25_{mounting. B}_{ecause of Telit’s uniform API and AT command set across families}

and technologies, it is possible for the initial generation of your device hardware to incorporate an LCC or connector module for low volume manufacturing. This initial generation can be quickly followed by another utilizing a high-volume manufacturing form factor such as BGA or LGA, but fully re-using your original application software and server infrastructure.

If your business model calls for a contingent transition from low to high volume manufacturing, discuss this transition with the Telit support organization. You will receive all the guidance necessary to ensure you design and develop your hardware and software with strategies fully compatible with this transition, e.g. application software development based core AT command set common to all platforms, common pin-outs across different technologies, etc.

20_{OEM: acronym for original equipment manufacturer. It refers to manufacturers who resell another}

company's product under their own brand typically after adding some value in the process such as adding the other company’s product as a component or sub-assembly to their own product.

21_{ISO/TS16949 is a technical specification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).}

It is based ISO 9001 specification but fine-tuned to the stricter requirements of the automotive industry particularly with respect to full product and component traceability over the entire automotive supply chain. TS16949 norms and specifications apply to the design, development, production, and when applicable, installation and servicing of automotive products.

22_{Pick-and-place refers to robotic systems which select (pick) components from reels or storage bins and}

“place” them in position on the printed circuit board in automated assembly lines.

23_{BGA: acronym for ball grid array. Refers to a surface mount package using a grid of solder balls as}

leads. BGA supports compact size, high lead count and has low inductance, which allows lower voltages to be used. BGA aligns well to the printed circuit board, because the leads, called "solder balls" or "solder bumps," are well separated.

24_{LGA: acronym for land grid array. Refers to a package for high density of contacts. LGAs have flat}

pads on the bottom of the package which touch contacts on the PCB or socket.

25_{LCC – acronym for leadless chip carrier. An integrated circuit package that has metalized areas}

(23)

Page. 22

Other Considerations

Your specific integration effort may involve additional considerations such as processing power and memory, I/Os, voice capabilities, upgradeability, scalability; or a more in-depth analysis of any combination of the above considerations. During your cellular m2m module selection and acquisition process, our technical sales team, a dedicated group of experts, can offer you technical support assisting in the various evaluation criteria in the product selection process.

Telit sales engineers are expertly trained to offer advice in selecting the appropriate radio module for you application. This technical sales team works with you to coordinate project

requirements and to help assemble the most suitable product portfolio. If applicable, in order to help you and your development team learn more about wireless technologies, Telit experts can share knowledge and experience through training courses and workshops.

Selecting Short-to-Long Range Modules

Short range communication modules allow you to engage in two distinct types of efforts. One is the replacement of wired connection of peripheral devices and busses (such as sensors and actuators) with wireless; the other is the creation of a hierarchical network topology whereby you replace high-cost nodes (such as cellular) with short range ones, thereby cutting costs to be able to address overall cost targets in very cost sensitive applications such as, residential meter reading for utilities. Telit Short range radios operate in the license-free ISM frequency

bands of 169, 433, 868, 915 MHz, and 2.4 GHz. They available both in standard

technologies (wireless M-Bus and ZigBee) as well as proprietary low-power, low data rate technologies.

In order to help you with either or both these different efforts, Telit has developed a number of different short range communication modules and a cellular gateway.

Star and Point to Point Networks

When you are replacing wired connections with wireless technology, you should consider the modules in the Telit LE family. These are multi-band, multi-channel radio

modules having an advanced proprietary embedded stack that is easy to integrate and use in point-to-point or star networks. They operate in the 433 MHz and 868 MHz bands and feature low power standby mode, efficient wake up on radio and budget link of 123 dB (119 dB for 433 MHz frequency in EU). These pre-certified, LGA format modules provide TTL RS232 interface, integrated digital and analog I/Os. The family is pin-to-pin compatible with Telit ZE Family (ZigBee 2007 and PRO stack), NE Family (Mesh low power) and ME Family (Wireless M-Bus).

Mesh Networks

When you are looking to establish a network of nodes such as the different residential utility meters in a city block or in an apartment building, they each need to be connected to the utility’s back office servers but not necessarily directly. Instead of fitting each individually with a cellular

(24)

Page. 23

WAN26_{module, the meters could be connected in a mesh network organized to access the}

WAN via a short-range to cellular gateway integrated into every 10th_{meter, or so.}

The Telit NE family comprises multi-band, multi-channel radio modules operating on an advanced proprietary embedded 10-hop, 10K-node low-power mesh stack that is easy to integrate and use. They operate in the 433 MHz and 868 MHz bands and feature low power

standby mode, efficient wake up on radio and link budget of 123 dB (119 dB for 433 MHz EU-only).

Wireless M-Bus and ZigBee

Your integration of short range may require use of standard protocols. The most popular in m2m are currently wireless M-Bus and ZigBee. Wireless M-Bus is under wide adoption in Continental Europe while ZigBee is the favored short range standard for general automation and energy in the UK and North America.

The Telit ME50-868 and ME50-169 are wireless M-Bus modules compliant with the EN13757 part 4 and part 5 wireless M-Bus standard. They are ideal for use in one or two-way data

links with gas, water, heat and electricity meters and concentrators. The ME50-868

operates in the 868 MHz band with Tx power of up to 25mW. It runs all wireless M-Bus modes defined by EN13757-4 and EN13757-5 in the 868 MHz band. The ME50-169 operates in the 169 MHz band and runs wireless M-Bus N mode protocol, defined by EN13757-4 2010 for this band, on Tx power of up to 35mW.

The Telit ME70-169 modules are the latest generation of Wireless M-Bus products compliant with the EN13757 part 4 Wireless M-Bus standard, optimized for use as one or two-way data links with gas, water, heat and electricity meters and concentrators. ME70-169 modules

operate in the 169MHz band with high Tx power and with ultra-low-power standby for maximum battery life. They reach 150 dB for link budget making them well suited for very long range applications and share the same form factor, pin-out, and air-interface with the ME50-169.

Gateways

As noted above, one of the strengths of short range lies in its ability to cut costs in m2m deployments by creating connected nodes that communicate in license free spectrum requiring no subscriptions, activation, provisioning, or any other cost driving activity associated to use of licensed spectrum. But in order to reap the benefits of this cost saving architecture a gateway must be introduced into the network ever so-many nodes.

The GG863-SR is this gateway solution. It is a cost saving, fully customizable solution for short-range-to-cellular gateway applications. It supports the different ISM bands (433MHz, 868MHz, 915MHz and 2.4GHz) as well as different protocol stacks (ZigBee, Wireless M-Bus or

26_{WAN: acronym for wide area network. Refers to a networking scheme that allows the interconnection of}

nodes farther apart then those considered to be local. The data communication facilities in cellular networks are taken to be wide area networks.

(25)

Page. 24

proprietary), different network topologies (Star, Mesh, 802.15.4/ZigBee), and different radio ranges (from 70m to 4km).

Other Considerations in Your Short-to-Long Range Module Selection

Review your specific requirements, both in technical terms as well as in compliance terms. The Telit pre-certified RF modules have small dimensions, the same form factor, and are pin-to-pin compatible, with one another allowing you to use different technologies with the design of a single PCB. Telit also offers a full set of tools to shorten and ease the design activities.

All Telit short range products employ an internally developed stack and profiles, thereby assuring full technical support during development, deployment and maintenance

phases as well as dedicated customization when required.

Selecting Positioning Modules

With a healthy number of electronic designs set to include a position awareness feature, it is very important that new integration efforts avoid the temptation of selecting a generic application note on for GPS receiver. There are a number of real advantages to using the newer

simultaneous-tracking multi-constellation Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

incorporating GPS, GLONASS27_{, Galileo and Beidou (often referred to as Compass) receiver}

modules. Your resulting design will be substantially more robust and perform better in situations that typically challenge GPS-only designs such as urban canyons. Besides, because the GLONASS and other satellite based system run from a larger constellation of newer technology satellites, your design will produce a position fix’s much faster; a critical factor particularly if your design is for location & recovery applications. The difference can be gleaned from the graphs in Figures 2 and 3.

27_{GLONASS: acronym for Globalnaya Navigatsionnay Sputnikovaya Sistema. It is the Russian}

Federation's Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Similar to the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS).

(26)

Page. 25

Figure 2 - London streets with 5 story buildings GPS-Only Visibility in a 24 hour period

Figure 3 - London streets with 5 story buildings GPS + GLONASS Visibility in a 24 hour period

Your requirements should determine how many constellations you need

Review your operating conditions carefully to determine if you require multi-constellation

support. More isn’t necessarily better. There are tradeoffs including cost, power and size. GPS will continue being the backbone of positioning solutions and in a lot of instances, all you really need. Telit has developed a positioning product portfolio which includes the ultra-compact SE880 GPS receiver and a number of multi-constellation modules. Moreover, Telit’s portfolio of positioning modules already addresses the coming European Galileo constellation.

(27)

Page. 26

In July 2013, Telit was selected among various applicant members of the Italian Technology Industry as one of that nation’s key representatives in the global roll-out of Europe’s Galileo ultra-accurate satellite positioning system.

Additional features, like dead reckoning, precision timing, and jamming detection should also be included in your selection process.

Standalone vs. Host solution - Standalone GNSS modules work independently from the

cellular module or device microprocessor so they can run while the cellular module or the application is in power saving or in power-off. On a host solution the GNSS module needs an external microprocessor to run the positioning stack and so the cellular module or application cannot be in power saving when positioning is running.

Flash based vs. ROM based - Flash based GNSS modules can be software upgraded.

Moreover they can use flash memory to store/acquire AGPS data, making the module independent from external elements. ROM based modules cannot be upgraded but only patched at each power on. A software patch can be injected in the ROM-based module via the cellular module or by an external microprocessor after power on, but in this case the cellular module or microprocessor must be on during GNSS power ON. When a ROM based GNSS is switched off patches and ephemeris data are lost. An external EEPROM can be added to store patches or ephemeris, but this is an external element to the module.

Assisted GPS - Assisted GPS speeds up the TTFF (Time to First Fix) using information from

an external source. The typical application involves the injection of either a self-generated ephemeris file (CGEE) or a server generated (SGEE). Availability of an on-board EE file generator is an alternative besides the classic server generated EE.

Advanced Power Modes - The availability of sophisticated low power modes enable modules

to keep and track position and dynamic parameters with less power consumption. Simplest GNSS modules are not able to do this since they have only the full power on or off modes. Advanced power modes allow superior performance in power consumption and battery saving while keeping the same time reliable position data.

Shortcuts for your GNSS integration effort

You should also consider what additional simplification you can achieve integrating an all-Telit solution. You can reap design simplification benefits from the seamless integration between Telit’s cellular and GNSS modules. This integration enables applications to be bundled at no additional cost and with reduced effort for you. And the availability of eCall28_{compliant cellular}

modules may provide you ready-to-use solutions that are eCall/ERA-GLONASS 29_{compliant if}

you are integrating telematics devices for Europe and Russia.

28_{eCall, an electronic safety system that automatically calls emergency services in the event of a vehicle}

accident. It is to be deployed across all of Europe.

29_{ERA-GLONASS, the Russian government Accident Emergency Response System utilizes GLONASS}

Integration Guide. A Comprehensive Guide to m2m Integration February Integration Guide