Does the nRF91 Series Support LTE Cat-1 bis?

[Lizer]

Hello everyone,

I have been assigned the task of finding a wireless modem with integrated LTE Cat-1 bis support. I've come across the nRF9161/60/51/31 family, which indicates LTE-M compatibility, but I am uncertain if this also includes LTE Cat-1 bis support.

I reviewed the "Feature comparison of our nRF91 Series devices," which states that these modems support 3GPP Release 13 and Release 14 for LTE-M.

Additionally, I found information online stating that LTE Cat-1 bis was introduced in 3GPP Release 13 back in 2016, yet I couldn't locate any details about it within the release. Can I trust the source where I found this information, or might I have overlooked something in my search?

Thank you very much in advance.

[Asbjørn]

Hello Lizer,

LTE Cat-1 bis is an adaptation of the "old" network infrastructure to support IoT modes by simplifying the old LTE to make it possible to create smaller applications using the same infrastructure. Our nRF91 devices support LTE-M and NB-IOT which are new standards and require new infrastructure (that is already in place).

Best regards

Asbjørn

[Jasonhart]

Two of our global mnvo are reporting that nb-iot is scheduled for depracation by at least two major carriers and that lte-m is still not well supported especially in major European countries. That the strong recommendation is to ensure the module has a fall back to cat 1bis and even 3g. 

are there plans and is the 9151 radio capable of cat 1bis ? 

we are about to commit to the 9151 but now need to answer the issues raised by our mnvos  

appreciate the reply. 

[Asbjørn]

Hi Jason,

there are no plans from us to add the LTE cat1 bis support to the nRF91 family of devices.

Best regards

Asbjørn