When to Use LTE Cat M for IoT Devices

Cat M is a low-power wide area (LPWA) technology designed for "Massive IoT" that operates on smaller frequency bands, allowing more devices to be supported per cell site. It offers key benefits such as power savings features like Power Saving Mode (PSM), Extended Discontinuous Reception (eDRX), and lower costs compared to regular LTE modems. Cat M is suitable for power-constrained IoT devices exchanging low-volume traffic with application clouds, and use cases include asset tracking, smart meters, and smart irrigation. However, it has limitations such as low bandwidth speeds and limited availability of Cat M networks worldwide. Devices using Cat M may be preempted from the network in case of congestion, making regular LTE modems a better option for "always-on" connections or devices requiring high-bandwidth transmissions.