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Advice on choice of low cost 3G/4G modem

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ulrikp

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We currently have a product that uses SIM800 which is a 2G GSM/GPRS module. It works beautifully, but in certain parts of the world, they are closing down the 2G network, so we are looking to switch to either 3G or 4G.

We found that the price of a SIMCOM modem with 3G or 4G is at least 4 times higher than for SIM800. I would like a suggestion for a low cost choice of 3G or 4G modem.

I am aware that different 3G and 4G modems are made for different regions of the world, but it would be great with a general advice on this - anything that will help us find a cheaper solution. E.g. are there other manufacturers that make cheaper versions, or is there a specific SIMCOM series that we should look into?

Thanks!
 

"low cost" could mean different things to different people - what price in Dollars or Euro do you need it to remain below.
The modem HW cost is part of the picture, but you also understand that the carrier access charges with the SIM module for the later generations are typically more than for 2G.

Some global companies which provide M2M (Machine to Machine) cellular data services used to offer some discounts on particular brands or models of modems that they preferred to support - I don't know if this is still done?
 

We pay roughly 7 USD per the modem now. That price will increase to 25-30 USD with the 3G/4G models that I am aware of. This will make our product too expensive. The extra data cost is currently not an issue.
 

why not re-design your product e.g using SIM5360 you can use it for communication and as substitut for microcontroller to reduce the cost, it accept LUA scripting and integrate peripheral(spi, i2c, gpio...). it cost 21 dollars.
 
Personally I never saw a 3g modem under 20 eur. I remember talking about this issue with a representative of a major european manufacturer, they told me that the reason for this high price is not the cost of electronics, but the cost of licenses/patents, etc for 3G operation, and the amount is several $ per unit in license fees. Thanks goes to qualcomm for this.
 

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