#005: The Current Realities of Cellular IoT

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Coredump Sessions

Memfault

18 episodes

6 days ago

Coredump Sessions is a podcast for embedded engineers and product teams building connected devices. Hosted by the team at Memfault, each episode features real-world stories and technical deep dives with experts across the embedded systems space. From Bluetooth pioneers and OTA infrastructure veterans to the engineers who built Pebble, we explore the tools, techniques, and tradeoffs that power reliable, scalable devices. If you're building or debugging hardware, this is your go-to for embedded insights.

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#005: The Current Realities of Cellular IoT

Coredump Sessions

59 minutes 35 seconds

7 months ago

#005: The Current Realities of Cellular IoT

In today’s Coredump Session, we zoom in on the rapidly evolving world of cellular IoT—what’s working, what’s changing, and what developers should know. With expert insight from Fabien Korheim of ONES, the conversation breaks down MVNOs vs MNOs, dives into certification hurdles, explores connectivity trade-offs like NB-IoT vs LTE-M, and unpacks why cellular is quietly powering more devices than you think. Whether you're building metering devices or baby monitors, this one hits the full stack—from tech to business models.

Key Takeaways:

MVNOs simplify global IoT deployments by abstracting regional carrier relationships and reducing SKU complexity.
LTE-M is currently the safest bet for low-power cellular applications, with 5G RedCap positioned as a future alternative.
Certification processes are lighter with MVNOs, especially when using pre-approved modules.
Cellular IoT is ideal where Wi-Fi isn’t guaranteed, like basements, forests, and mobile tracking.
Consumer IoT has huge untapped potential—cellular can dramatically improve usability and reduce returns.
Battery life and data costs are major design considerations, especially when scaling fleets globally.
Multiradio devices and smart fallback strategies (e.g. BLE/Wi-Fi + Cellular) are becoming more common.
Debugging tools and observability platforms are essential for maintaining reliability across networks, devices, and regions.

Chapters:

00:00 Episode Teasers & Intro02:34 MVNO vs MNO: What’s the Difference?06:28 Certifications, SIMs & Simplifying Deployment12:31 NB-IoT, LTE-M, LoRaWAN & Satellite—Explained23:43 5G for IoT: Hype or Here?27:14 Top Use Cases: Meters, Trackers & Wildlife33:28 The Big Opportunity: Cellular in Consumer Devices36:33 Business Models: Who Pays for Cellular?37:49 Getting Started: Kits, SIMs & Copy-Paste Firmware41:59 Common Mistakes & What to Watch in the Field47:15 What to Measure: Observability That Scales49:13 Q&A: Prioritization, Firmware Updates, RedCap & More

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