Asking for a friend: I have a small side project which includes hardware for GPS and for cellular coverage, and was surprised to see the 2G network will be shut down within a year.
The thing is that existing 2G FCC-approved modules with GPS cost around $3-5, and 3/4G around $20-30. Quite a big step in price!
Do you know any cheap modules provide 3/4G connection with GPS?
Hate to tell you, 3G isn’t long for this world either. They are re-allocating spectrum and I am not doing anything that uses 3G in my/client’s projects.
I am using the BG95-M3 on the ABC board. They said it was going to be sub $10 in low-ish quantities. I’m sure it can go lower. This is a Cat M1 modem. If you need higher speed, there is a Cat 1 (both are LTE) called the EG91 with a similar footprint (I designed my board to make it swappable, but that did not go as planned). The Cat 1 modems are more expensive and higher power draw, they said it sub $20.
Both modules have GNSS onboard. I am in the throes of testing right now, will let you know how that goes.
Thanks @ChrisGammell. I look forward to hearing more. I find hearing first hand “what I’ve found works for me” makes ContextualElectronics really special.
Yeah, 3G is quite different to 4G on the back-end and so the networks want to get rid of it as soon as possible. 2G will stick around longer, but it won’t be here forever.
I have a good experience with the Nordic nRF9160 as a dual-mode Cat-M and NB-IoT module with GPS, especially as it has a built in Cortex-M33 so you don’t need a separate microcontroller, and it supports TrustZone so you can securely boot signed firmware.