Are these modules actually available? They have no datasheet available or much of anything, documentation wise, really.
Hi,
You need to contact one of our sales channels to be able to get hold of one. Technical documentation is available but not currently through the source as it is not yet commercially available.
Regards
Matt
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That answers my question!
By the way, how does the US operator certificates work exactly? I do understand Verizone will hit you with a large bill before they’ll allow you to use your IoT box in their network. Does the HL780x come “pre-certified” for AT&T?
HL78 is scheduled to have Verizon and AT&T certification.
It is cost prohibitive to not use a pre certified module unless you are very big (it costs us a lot of time, money and resource). If you use a pre certified module then the application certification costs, which are adifferent set if tests, are much reduced but you do still have to go through the testing at a test house for which you have to pay.
Regards
Matt
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You mean the usual FCC stuff or it’s specific to the operator?
The specs on the web page has a bit unlikely band spread. For LTE-M1 its
B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B8, B9, B10, B12, B13, B14, B17, B18, B19, B20, B25, B26, B27, B28, B65, B66
and for 2G it’s 900MHz and 1800MHz
2G sounds reasonable enough but that laundry list of channels for LTE seems like it combines several versions that are planned?
Olli,
So regulatory wise it is FCC for the US, then PTCRB if you want to use it on AT&T, then the operator approvals which legally you do not need but if you want to buy Verizon or AT&T SIM’s they force you to do.
Re the bands all of the ones you have listed are contained within the same device. Because NB1/LPWA is a simplified version of LTE with lower RF/signalling requirements quite a bit of the processing can be done in DSP hence you can get more bands into a single smaller device. As a result it is a global unit.
Regards
Matt
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According to your “IoT Product Certifications in North America” document, AT&T certificate is free as long as the module is approved by them?
Verizon apparently wants money for this but they do not have price lists… How much are the three certificates they want?
With regards to SIM card, Sierra has this “Ready-to-Connect” product, does that mean we could ignore the operator certificates since it’s not “their” SIM card?
Ollie,
Testing in AT&T labs is ‘free’ but there is a queue, the testing is easier than Verizon as well.
Verizon does not allow roaming generically other than with selected MVNO’s, who all require you to get certification, whether this changes in the short/medium term I don’t know.
AT&T yes you can use a roaming SIM and avoid this
Re costs, impossible for us, as a module OEM to state, as it depends on the test house you use, how many test cases Verizon require you to run, which in turn depends on your application, whether you fail any and have to go back, if there are any setup issues at the test house, the list goes on and on. Either way if you undertake it you need to be sure you are going to sell enough devices to cover the charges as they are not insignificant.
Regards
Matt
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Ok, that pretty much covers it. It most likely does not make sense to go with Verizon considering the cellular box has relatively modest figures.
For EU we’ll be using the HL7692 CAT-1 module as blighty and CAT-NB1 or CAT-M1 is happening in Near Future ™ for some time now.