GPS Trackers
Real-time tracking of industrial assets, vehicles and containers thanks to LTE-M's native mobility.
Cellular IoT Connectivity
LTE-M — Long-range connected objects
Design and manufacture of LTE-M (Cat-M1) electronic boards for industrial and mobile IoT
Technology
What is LTE-M?
LTE-M (Long Term Evolution for Machines, also known as Cat-M1) is a cellular LPWAN standard developed by 3GPP for low-power connected objects. It uses the existing 4G infrastructure of telecom operators, without requiring any additional network deployment.
| Criterion | LTE-M | NB-IoT | LoRa |
|---|---|---|---|
| Range | ~10 km | ~15 km | ~10-15 km |
| Data rate | 1 Mb/s | 250 kb/s | 50 kb/s |
| Mobility | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Power consumption | Low | Very low | Very low |
| Operator subscription | Yes | Yes | No (private LoRaWAN) |
| Ideal use case | Trackers, wearables, mobile meters | Fixed sensors, water/gas meters | Private networks, rural areas |
Applications
LTE-M Use Cases
LTE-M addresses the needs of a wide variety of IoT applications requiring mobility, reliability and low power consumption.
Smart Meters
Remote reading of water, gas and energy meters with low power consumption and national coverage.
Connected Medical Devices
Blood pressure monitors, health monitors and medical wearables communicating via secure cellular network.
Battery Management
Monitoring battery state for electric vehicles and energy storage systems.
Predictive Maintenance
Vibration and temperature sensors to anticipate failures and optimise industrial maintenance.
Alarms & Security
Wireless detectors and alarm systems connected to the cellular network without local infrastructure.
Our expertise
What Codium brings
Designing an industrial LTE-M board goes well beyond simply choosing a module. Codium masters the entire chain, from RF design to series production.
Integrated RF expertise
Custom antenna design, network matching and link budget optimisation for each deployment. Our RF design office masters the RF constraints specific to LTE-M (bands B1, B3, B8, B20, B28).
CE/RED certification managed in-house
Pierre Belloche, RF Engineer, manages CE/RED certification processes directly within Codium. This reduces time-to-market lead times and costs for your products.
Selected LTE-M SIM and modules
We select and qualify the best modules for your constraints: Nordic nRF9161 (ultra-compact, integrated DECT NR+), Quectel BG95 (multi-mode LPWA), and eSIM/iSIM solutions for fleet management.
Real-world testing
Field validation of network coverage, roaming scenarios and PSM/eDRX behaviour to maximise the battery life of your objects.
Series production 50 to 10,000 boards
Our SMT production workshop in Langres handles manufacturing of your LTE-M boards from prototype to series, with IPC-A-610 quality control and full traceability.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ — LTE-M
What is the difference between LTE-M and NB-IoT?
LTE-M (Cat-M1) and NB-IoT are two complementary cellular LPWAN standards. The main difference lies in data rate and mobility: LTE-M reaches 1 Mb/s and supports mobility (handover between antennas), making it ideal for trackers and moving objects. NB-IoT is more energy-efficient but limited to 250 kb/s and does not support mobility — it is suited to fixed sensors such as water meters.
In terms of latency, LTE-M is also more reactive (~10-15 ms vs ~1.4 s for NB-IoT), which is important for alarm or control applications.
Is an operator subscription required?
Yes, LTE-M uses the infrastructure of telecom operators. A dedicated IoT data subscription is required for each board. Costs are generally very low for IoT: in the order of €1 to €5 per board per year for significant volumes.
eSIM and multi-operator SIM solutions exist to optimise coverage and reduce costs. Codium advises you on the choice of operator and SIM strategy suited to your deployment.
How to manage RED certification for an LTE-M product?
The RED directive (Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU) is mandatory for any radio product marketed in Europe, including LTE-M boards. It involves tests on RF emissions, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and electrical safety.
Codium manages this certification in-house thanks to Pierre Belloche, specialist RF Engineer. We prepare the technical file, coordinate tests in an accredited laboratory and draft the EU Declaration of Conformity. This in-house expertise reduces lead times to 6-10 weeks compared to 4-6 months via an external design office.
Can LTE-M and LoRa be combined on the same board?
Yes, this is entirely possible and even recommended for certain hybrid architectures. A multi-radio LTE-M + LoRa board allows, for example, using LoRa for local communication (workshop network) and LTE-M for consolidating data to the cloud. Our article LoRa vs LTE-M details the selection criteria between these two technologies.
The main constraint is RF coexistence: the two transmitters must be isolated to avoid interference. Codium masters this issue through its multi-band RF design expertise. The Nordic nRF9161 can be paired with a LoRa module (e.g. Semtech SX1262) on the same board with an optimised antenna architecture.
Your project
Ready to design your LTE-M board?
Tell us about your IoT project. Our team analyses your constraints (consumption, mobility, certification, volume) and proposes a tailored architecture.