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Cellular Networks

In this article, you will find details on various supported cellular networks and the particular settings in various environments. The CHESTER platform supports LTE-M and NB-IoT cellular technologies using nRF9160 System-in-Package from Nordic Semiconductor.

In HARDWARIO, we do not restrict customers to use any SIM card provider of their preference (as long as the selected carrier offers one of the supported cellular technologies). On the other hand, for the SIM cards provided by HARDWARIO, we can provide an extended level of technical support.

As of now, we can deliver SIM cards for these three carriers:

  • LTE-M / *NB-IoT connectivity: Vodafone in European countries.
  • LTE-M connectivity: 1NCE for other providers in non-European countries.
caution

For plastic SIM cards, we only support Nano-SIM form factor (4FF). Alternatively, HARDWARIO can provide a SIM chip variant (MFF2) for bulk orders.

Network Settings​

This article provides settings reference for the tested networks and current Cloud v2.

In case of older firmwares, see legacy Cloud v1 chapter.

caution

The table below applies to the SIM cards provided by HARDWARIO. We cannot guarantee data validity if the SIM cards are sourced from anywhere else.

Vodafone SIM EU28+2​

This table applies for Vodafone SIM card. The Carrier column shows which roaming partner Vodafone uses in this area.

CountryTechnologyCarrierPLMN IDAPN
AustraliaNB-IoTVodafone50503hardwario
AustriaNB-IoT, LTE-MA1 Austria23201hardwario
AustriaNB-IoT, LTE-MMagenta T-Mobile Austria23203hardwario
BalearicNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Spain21401hardwario
BelgiumNB-IoT, LTE-MProximus Belgium20601hardwario
BelgiumNB-IoT, LTE-MOrange Belgium20610hardwario
BelgiumNB-IoT, LTE-MBase Belgium20620hardwario
BulgariaNB-IoTA1 Bulgaria28401hardwario
CanadaLTE-MTelus Canada302220hardwario
CanadaLTE-MBell Mobility Canada302610hardwario
Canary IslandsNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Spain21401hardwario
CeutaNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Spain21401hardwario
CroatiaNB-IoTA1 HR21910hardwario
Czech RepublicNB-IoTT-Mobile Czech Republic23001hardwario
Czech RepublicNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Czech Republic23003hardwario
DenmarkNB-IoT, LTE-MNuuday23801hardwario
DenmarkNB-IoT, LTE-MTelenor Denmark23802hardwario
DenmarkLTE-MTelia Denmark23820hardwario
EstoniaLTE-MTelia Estonia24801hardwario
EstoniaNB-IoT, LTE-MElisa Estonia24802hardwario
FinlandNB-IoT, LTE-MElisa Finland24405hardwario
FinlandNB-IoT, LTE-MDNA Oy Finland24412hardwario
FinlandLTE-MTelia Finland24491hardwario
FranceLTE-MOrange France20801hardwario
FranceLTE-MSFR France20810hardwario
FranceNB-IoT, LTE-MBouygues France20820hardwario
GermanyNB-IoT, LTE-MT-Mobile Germany26201hardwario
GermanyNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Germany26202hardwario
GermanyNB-IoT, LTE-MTelefonica Germany26207hardwario
GreeceNB-IoTVodafone-Panafon Greece20205hardwario
Hong KongNB-IoT3 Hong Kong45403hardwario
HungaryNB-IoT, LTE-MTelekom Hungary21630hardwario
HungaryNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Hungary21670hardwario
IcelandNB-IoTVodafone Iceland27402hardwario
IrelandNB-IoTVodafone Ireland27201hardwario
IrelandNB-IoT, LTE-MThree Ireland (Hutchison) Limited27205hardwario
ItalyNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Italy22210hardwario
ItalyNB-IoTWind Tre22288hardwario
JapanLTE-MNTT Docomo Japan44010hardwario
JapanLTE-MSoftbank Japan44020hardwario
LatviaNB-IoT, LTE-MLMT Latvia24701hardwario
LiechtensteinNB-IoT, LTE-MSwisscom Switzerland22801hardwario
LiechtensteinLTE-MMobilkom Liechtenstein29505hardwario
LuxembourgLTE-MPost Luxembourg27001hardwario
MadeiraNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Portugal26801hardwario
MaltaNB-IoT, LTE-MMelita Mobile Ltd.27877hardwario
MelillaNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Spain21401hardwario
MexicoLTE-MTelcel Mexico334020hardwario
MexicoLTE-MIUSACell Mexico334050hardwario
NetherlandsNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Netherlands20404hardwario
NetherlandsNB-IoT, LTE-MOdido Netherlands20416hardwario
New ZealandNB-IoT, LTE-MOne NZ53001hardwario
NorwayNB-IoT, LTE-MTelenor Mobil Norway24201hardwario
PolandLTE-MOrange Poland26003hardwario
PortugalNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Portugal26801hardwario
Puerto RicoNB-IoT, LTE-MT-Mobile United States310260hardwario
Puerto RicoLTE-MClaro Puerto Rico330110hardwario
RomaniaNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Romania22601hardwario
RomaniaLTE-MOrange Romania22610hardwario
RussiaNB-IoTMTS Russia25001hardwario
San MarinoNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Italy22210hardwario
Santa Cruz de TenerifeNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Spain21401hardwario
SlovakiaNB-IoT, LTE-MOrange Slovakia23101hardwario
SloveniaNB-IoT, LTE-MA1 Slovenia29340hardwario
South AfricaNB-IoTVodacom South Africa65501hardwario
SpainNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Spain21401hardwario
SwedenNB-IoT, LTE-MTele2 AB Sweden24007hardwario
SwedenLTE-MTelenor Sweden24008hardwario
SwitzerlandNB-IoT, LTE-MSwisscom Switzerland22801hardwario
SwitzerlandNB-IoT, LTE-MSunrise Switzerland22802hardwario
TaiwanNB-IoTFarEasTone Taiwan46601hardwario
United KingdomNB-IoTVodafone United Kingdom23415hardwario
United StatesNB-IoT, LTE-MT-Mobile United States310260hardwario
United StatesNB-IoT, LTE-MAT&T310410hardwario
VaticanNB-IoT, LTE-MVodafone Italy22210hardwario
VietnamNB-IoTViettel Vietnam45204hardwario

Another carriers​

The Carrier column shows which SIM card you have to use.

CountryTechnologyCarrierPLMN IDAPN
Open listLTE-MOnomondo-onomondo
Open listNB-IoTOnomondo-onomondo
AustriaNB-IoTT-Mobile23203nbiot.telekom.sk
PolandNB-IoTT-Mobile26002nbiot.telekom.sk
SlovakiaNB-IoTT-Mobile23102nbiot.telekom.sk

Applying Settings​

You can apply the settings using these commands:

lte config antenna "internal"
lte config mode "lte-m,nb-iot"
lte config bands ""
lte config network ""
lte config apn ""
lte config auth "none"
lte config username ""
lte config password ""
lte config addr "192.168.192.4"
lte config modemtrace false

Auto-Configuration​

If configuration parameters are left empty, the system will perform auto-configuration based on the available hardware and network environment.

Configuration Parameters​

antenna – Antenna Type​

Defines the type of antenna connected to the device:

  • internal – Use the built-in antenna.
  • external – Use an externally connected antenna.

mode – Network Mode Selection​

Specifies the preferred network connectivity modes and their priority:

  • lte-m,nb-iot – Prefer LTE-M, fallback to NB-IoT.
  • nb-iot,lte-m – Prefer NB-IoT, fallback to LTE-M.
  • lte-m – Use LTE-M only.
  • nb-iot – Use NB-IoT only.

⚠️ Ensure the selected mode is supported by your SIM card and the local network operator.

apn – Network APN (Access Point Name)​

Defines the APN required to connect to the mobile network:

  • The IP address is provided by the SIM card provider.
  • Leave empty for auto-configuration, if supported by the network and modem.

auth – Authentication Method​

Defines the method of APN authentication:

  • "none" – No authentication.
  • "pap" – Use PAP authentication (if supported).
  • "chap" – Use CHAP authentication (if supported).

If your SIM does not require authentication, use "none".

username – APN Username​

The username used for APN authentication.
Leave empty ("") if authentication is not required.

password – APN Password​

The password used for APN authentication.
Leave empty ("") if authentication is not required.

addr – Static IP Address​

Specifies the static IP address assigned to the LTE network interface.

You can verify the settings using this command:

lte config show

Run this command to query the LTE registration state:

lte state

You can read the IMSI of the SIM card even when the CHESTER is not attached:

lte imsi

Vodafone Configuration​

This is the reference LTE settings with using CHESTER with the 1nce SIM card:

lte config mode "lte-m,nb-iot"
lte config bands ""
lte config network ""
lte config apn ""
lte config auth "none"
lte config username ""
lte config password ""
lte config addr "192.168.192.4

1nce Configuration​

This is the reference LTE settings with using CHESTER with the 1nce SIM card:

lte config mode "lte-m,nb-iot"
lte config bands ""
lte config network ""
lte config apn "iot.1nce.net"
lte config auth "none"
lte config username ""
lte config password ""
lte config addr "157.245.24.13"

Onomondo Configuration​

This is the reference LTE settings when using CHESTER with the Onomondo SIM card:

lte config lte-m-mode true
lte config nb-iot-mode false
lte config autoconn true
lte config apn onomondo
lte config addr 20.101.123.47

Vodafone Czech Republic NB-IoT Configuration​

This is the reference LTE settings when using CHESTER with the Vodafone Czech Republic SIM card:

lte config lte-m-mode false
lte config nb-iot-mode true
lte config autoconn false
lte config apn hardwario
lte config plmnid 23003
lte config addr 192.168.192.4

Slovak Telekom NB-IoT Configuration​

This is the reference LTE settings when using CHESTER with the Slovak Telekom SIM card:

lte config lte-m-mode false
lte config nb-iot-mode true
lte config autoconn false
lte config apn nbiot.telekom.sk
lte config plmnid 23102
lte config addr 20.101.123.47

Vodafone Slovakia (Orange)​

This is the reference LTE settings when using CHESTER with the Czech Vodafone SIM card in Slovakia using Orange:

lte config nb-iot-mode false
lte config lte-m-mode true
lte config plmnid 23101
lte config apn hardwario
lte config addr 192.168.192.4

Mobily (Saudi Arabia) NB-IoT Configuration​

This is the reference LTE settings when using CHESTER with the Mobily SIM card:

lte config lte-m-mode false
lte config nb-iot-mode true
lte config autoconn false
lte config apn M2M-NB
lte config plmnid 42003
lte config addr 20.101.123.47

Cloud v1 configuration​

For our legacy HARDWARIO Cloud v1 firmwares (usually CHESTER catalogue firmware version is 2.x.x) you need to use a different settings for these two config items:

  • IP with Vodafone SIM card: lte config addr 192.168.168.1
  • IP with non-Vodafone SIM card: lte config addr 165.227.146.193
  • APN: lte config apn hardwario.com

Notice the APN has a .com suffix, and IP leads to Cloud v1 UDP server.

Don't forget to save configuration changes by typing config save.

List Available Networks​

You can use CHESTER to scan for networks it can see. This is mainly for troubleshooting purposes. you have to use J-Link RTT connection with HARDWARIO CLI, this doesn't work with a BLE connection.

Open HARDWARIO CLI console by typing hardwario chester app console

lte config test true
config save

lte test uart enable
lte test wakeup
lte test cmd at\%xsystemmode=1,1,0,0
lte test cmd at+cfun=1
lte test cmd at\%cops=?

<wait for %COPS response>

lte config test false
config save
warning

Don't forget to disable modem test mode after you get the %COPS response so CHESTER can work properly again.

lte config test false
config save

Response will be in application log during several minutes (e.g. ~3 minutes with usual bandlock for Bands 2, 4, 5, 8, 12, 20, 28) in the form like:

%COPS: (2,"","","26201",7),(1,"","","26202",7)

Output explanation:

%COPS: [(<stat>,long alphanumeric <oper>,short alphanumeric <oper>,numeric <oper>[,<AcT>])]

<stat>

  • 0 – Unknown
  • 1 – Available
  • 2 – Current
  • 3 – Forbidden

<oper>

  • PLMNID of operator

<AcT>

  • 7 – LTE-M
  • 9 – NB-IoT