FONA mini cellular GSM - GPRS without GSM (2G)

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ab3d
 
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FONA mini cellular GSM - GPRS without GSM (2G)

Post by ab3d »

Hi,

some time ago I created a few pieces of a small alarm system for a customer. Now my customer informed me, that the provider he uses plans to shut down the GSM (2G) by mid to end of 2019. We talked about using GPRS with an IOT plattform instead of sending SMS via 2G GSM connection.

My questions is, if we replace the currently used SIM card (no data service) with one that provides data service, is the FONA mini cellular GSM breakout capable of using GPRS without a connection to the 2G GSM network? Or is 2G GSM connection a precondition for using GPRS? To make a long story short, do we have to replace the FONA mini cellular GSM breakout with a FONA 3G board? If so, does any of the FONA boards work in Asian 3G Networks?

Thanks in advance.

Regards
Alex

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: FONA mini cellular GSM - GPRS without GSM (2G)

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

GPRS requires GSM.. you use GSM to talk to the cell tower in general, then use GPRS for things like a data connection. It's equivalent to needing a cellular plan before you can make phone calls.

Ting has been taking over 2G service in areas where the major carriers are dropping it. You might check to see if they provide service in that area.

http://ting.com/

If not, the 2G FONA will no longer be useful in that area. You might have to switch up to a 3G model.

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ab3d
 
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Re: FONA mini cellular GSM - GPRS without GSM (2G)

Post by ab3d »

ok, so it's as I expected it to be.

Would you also be so kind to answer my last question. There are modules for US and for EUROPE networks, but is one of them also working in Asia?

Regards
Alex

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: FONA mini cellular GSM - GPRS without GSM (2G)

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

That one has a messy answer.

Pretty much everyone uses GSM as the basic network communication protocol these days. The US used to have CDMA (originally developed in WWII), but the carriers have been shifting over to GSM.

The remaining problem is that there are 25 GSM frequency bands, and no phone can hold enough radios or antennas to use all of them. The US and Europe use different groups of channels.

Asian countries use a group of channels that are also used by Europe, but the devil is in the details. This webpage has a breakdown of countries, generations, and frequencies:

https://www.worldtimezone.com/gsm.html

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ab3d
 
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Re: FONA mini cellular GSM - GPRS without GSM (2G)

Post by ab3d »

Based on the information of this website the EUROPE version of the 3G FONA should work.

Nevertheless, we will have to create a prototype and test it in-depth and check if everything is working well or whether there are some side effects.

Thank you and two thumbs up for your support.

Regards
Alex

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