This page contains application examples, document references, tips and tricks and so on related to STM32 cellular
1. What is Cellular LTE CatM and NBIoT
LTE CatM and Narrowband Internet of Things (NBIoT) are Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) radio technology standard developed by 3GPP to enable a wide range of cellular devices and services.
NBIoT focuses specifically on indoor coverage, low cost, long battery life, and high connection density.
The advantage of LTE CatM over NBIoT is its higher data rate, mobility, and voice over the network, but it requires more bandwidth and is more costly.
Check GSMA's NBIoT / LTE CatM world wide coverage information
2. Getting started with STM32 and Cellular LTE Cat M and NBIoT
Hardware point of view, STMicroelectronics offers various possibilities to setup a STM32 with Cellular connectivity solution:
P-L496G-CELL01: Kit with a screenless 32L496GDISCOVERY Discovery board and a STMod+ board with the Quectel UG96 modem | |
P-L496G-CELL02: Kit with a screenless 32L496GDISCOVERY Discovery board and a STMod+ board with the Quectel BG96 modem | |
B-L475E-IOT01A IoT Discovery board and add-on board with Quectel BG96 modem | |
B-L475E-IOT01A IoT Discovery board and add-on board with Sequans® GM01Q modem | |
32L496GDISCOVERY Discovery board and modem board based on Sequans® GM01Q or Quectel UG96 or BG96 modem |
Note that to connect STMod+ board to B-L475E-IOT01A IoT Discovery board an Arduino / STMod+ adapter (X-NUCLEO-STMODA1) is needed.
Sotfware side, the X-CUBE-CELLULAR (X-CUBE Expansion Package) provides a SW solution to allow customers to quickly and easily develop their own Firmware.
- Based on FreeRTOS
- Users can decide to use either IP stack in the modem or in STM32 (LwIP)
- Menu and command line through Virtual COM UART over USB ST-LINK to configure the cellular connectivity parameters (technology selection, bands, APN, and others), and connection to the cloud IoT platform (HTTP or MQTT)
- Easy to support a new modem
Several applications are provided as examples: PING, ECHO, HTTP, MQTT ...
For more information check X-CUBE-CELLULAR
New HW setups and new SW features in X-CUBE-CELLULAR will be provided to customers over time.
Zigbee 3.0 mesh to cloud over cat-M with BLE 5.0 user control (MWC/EW 2020)
ST at CES 2019 - LTE IoT Starter Kits
STM32 Cellular to Cloud Discovery Packs: 2G/3G and Espruino JS, LTE IoT! Embedded World 2018
How to get started with STM32 Cellular to Cloud discovery packs (P-L496G-CELL01, P-L496G-CELL02)
4. STM32 compliant with Cellular LTE CatM and NBIoT
X-CUBE-CELLULAR
P-L496G-CELL02
B-L475E-IOT01A
32L496GDISCOVERY
X-NUCLEO-STMODA1
GM01Q
5. Specific tools
STMicroelectronics’ STM32 Power Shield to power and analyze current consumption
Network simulator for both LTE CatM & NBIoT
6. STMicroelectronics Resources
Doc Number | Title |
---|---|
DB3582 | Cellular connectivity software expansion for STM32Cube |
UM2567 | Getting started with the X-CUBE-CELLULAR cellular connectivity Expansion Package for STM32Cube |
UL2426 | X-CUBE-CELLULAR cellular connectivity Expansion Package for STM32Cube |