Knowledge base

Industry 4.0 is the fourth industrial revolution and goes a step further than digitization, it is the connection and communication between different systems and machines that makes organizations work faster, more efficiently and largely automated. Industry 4.0 is the transition from digitization to an economy and society in which the boundaries between the physical, digital and biological world are increasingly disappearing.

The capabilities of each simcard form factor are the same, but they each have different dimensions, making them suitable for specific types of devices. 2FF, 3FF and 4FF simcards must be placed in a device, while MFF2 simcards that are vacuum sealed are soldered directly to the printed circuit board. That is why they are also called embedded simcards. IoT connectivity simcards come in four different forms ranging from 2FF, the largest simcard, to 4FF, or nano simcard, the newest and smallest of the simcards. In addition, there is also a built-in simcard option: the MFF2 (sim chip). Each generation of simcard is smaller than the previous one. Although they are usually referred to by the generation they originate from (2, 3, 4), they are also referred to as 'mini simcards' (2FF), 'micro simcards' (3FF), 'nano simcards' (4FF) , or called “embedded simcards” (MFF2). SIM form factor dimensions 2FF (mini): 25mm x 15mm x 0.76mm 3FF (micro): 15mm x 12mm x 0.76mm 4FF (nano): 12.3mm × 8.8mm × 0.67mm MFF2 (embedded): 5mm x 6mm x 1mm

An IoT connectivity simcard or SIM (subscriber identity module) consists of a contact chip that is encased in protective plastic. The contact chip contains the authentication data of a device, which gives the device access to a mobile network.

LTE (Long Term Evolution), also known as 4G, will be available in the Netherlands from 2010 on a limited scale. The LTE network was only publicly accessible in 2013. LTE has a maximum speed of 12.5 MB/s and is designed to be backward compatible with 3G and 2G). LTE is also much more flexible with bandwidth allocation, resulting in much less congestion.

3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is an agreement between different telecommunications standards that was established in December 1998. The aim of 3GPP is to create a globally applicable technical system and report, based on the evolution of the third generation GSM networks and radio technology, which is used by them. The 3GPP working groups are, among other things, responsible for the specifications of the network protocols and the infrastructure of 2G - 5G networks (M2M, LTE M, NB-IOT).

HSUPA stands for High Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access. The download speeds increased rapidly, but the upload lagged behind, the upload at HSDPA is 125 KB/s. That is why the HSUPA standard has been designed, which is also an extension of 3G. In this standard, the maximum upload has been increased to 720 KB/s. 3G networks are still offered within the M2M service.

HSDPA or High-Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access is an extension to 3G. It is also called 3.5G. HSDPA is a communication service with a transmission speed of up to at least 10 times the UMTS speed of 384 KB/s. 3G networks are still offered within the M2M service.

UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), or 3G, is seen as the successor to GSM/GPRS. UMTS is the third generation of mobile communication and is nothing more than a system of agreements between providers of different mobile networks. 3G networks are still offered within the M2M service.

EDGE or Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution is an improvement of GPRS for data transmission. It works on existing GSM networks. It is an extension of GPRS and allows speeds up to 48 KB/s). EDGE is also called 2.75G because the speed is between GPRS (2.5G) and UMTS (3G). 2G and 3G networks are still offered within the M2M service.

GPRS (2.5G) or General Packet Radio Service is a technology that is an extension of the existing GSM network. With this technology, mobile data can be sent and received in a more efficient, faster and cheaper way. With GPRS, devices are always online, which means that they have a constant connection to the internet and are charged on the amount of data they download or send. The device only keeps the connection busy when it is actually used. As a result, the capacity is better utilized and more data can be exchanged simultaneously. The maximum speed on GPRS is between 7 KB/s and 14 KB/s. The technology is called 2.5G. This is not an official Generation. It is so called because it is between 2G and 3G. 2G and 3G networks are still offered within the M2M service.

Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) or 2G, is a mobile network in which the radio spectrum is divided into separate coverage areas (cells), each of which is served by a base station. Mobile devices (hardware) connect to the network via the radio channels available in the local service cell. GSM networks are divided into different frequencies. The speed is about 1 KB/s. This speed is too low to operate the emerging internet via devices. That's why GPRS (2.5G) was designed. A data connection via GSM is no longer used, GPRS is the lowest connection standard.

A fixed IP address is an IP address that is assigned to a device and has the property that it does not change. The simcard can be accessed directly through the fixed IP address. Fixed IP address security A fixed public IP address is very vulnerable to security risks. It is accessible to all users on the internet and only depends on the authentication on the hardware. The big difference with a fixed private IP address is the approach. While a fixed public IP address can be accessed by any user on the internet, a fixed private IP address has a VPN tunnel. This means that all IP addresses are located within a VPN and cannot be accessed from outside. The user must first log in and can then connect to the fixed private IP address. This extra security has the advantage that devices do not have to be individually protected and the risks of external attacks are many times smaller.