Quectel  EC21

 

IoT/M2M-optimized LTE Cat 1 Module

 


Key benefits
 



● Low-cost, lower-power LTE connectivity optimized for broadband IoT applications

● Worldwide LTE, UMTS/HSPA+ and GSM/GPRS/EDGE coverage

● Multi-constellation GNSS receiver available for applications requiring fast and accurate fixes in any environment

● Feature refinements: supports DFOTA*, eCall*, QuecLocator and DTMF

● MIMO technology meets demands for data rate and link reliability in modem wireless communication systems







Introduction
 



Quectel EC21 is a series of LTE category 1 module optimized specially for M2M and IoT applications. It features cost-saving, low power LTE connectivity, and delivers M2M-optimized speeds of 10Mbit/s downlink and 5Mbit/s uplink. These make EC21 an ideal solution for numerous IoT applications that are not reliant on high speed connectivity but still require the longevity and reliability of LTE networks.

EC21 is compatible with Quectel UMTS/HSPA+ UC20 module and multi-mode LTE EC20/EC25 module in the compact and unified form factor. It contains 10 variants: EC21-E, EC21-A, EC21-V, EC21-AUT, EC21-AUTL, EC21-AUV, EC21-J, EC21-KL, EC21-AU and EC21-CT. This makes it backwardcompatible with existing EDGE and GSM/GPRS networks, ensuring that it can easily migrate from LTE to 2G or 3G networks.

EC21 supports Qualcomm® IZat™ location technology Gen8C Lite (GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo and QZSS). The integrated GNSS greatly simplifies product design, and provides quicker, more accurate and more dependable positoning.

A rich set of Internet protocols, industry-standard interfaces and abundant functionalities (USB drivers for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10, Linux, Android/eCall*) extend the applicability of the module to a wide range of M2M and IoT applications such as smart metering, wearable devices, environmental monitoring, asset tracking, fleet management, security and alarm systems, and so on.

 

Specification

 

General Features

 

Frequency Bands

EC21-E

LTE FDD: B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20

WCDMA: B1/B5/B8

GSM: B3/B8

EC21-A

LTE FDD: B2/B4/B12

WCDMA: B2/B4/B5

EC21-V

LTE FDD: B4/B13

EC21-AUT

LTE FDD: B1/B3/B5/B7/B28

WCDMA: B1/B5

EC21-AUTL

LTE FDD: B3/B7/B28

EC21-AUV

LTE FDD: B1/B3/B5/B8/B28

WCDMA: B1/B5/B8

EC21-J

LTE FDD: B1/B3/B8/B18/B19/B26

EC21-KL

LTE FDD: B1/B3/B5/B7/B8

EC21-AU

LTE FDD: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B28

LTE TDD: B40

WCDMA: B1/B2/B5/B8

GSM: B2/B3/B5/B8

EC21-CT

LTE FDD: B1/B3/B5

 

 

LTE Version

3GPP E-UTRA Release 11

 

 

Bandwidth

1.4/3/5/10/15/20MHz

 

 

Antenna

Supports Rx-diversity

 

 

Supply Voltage Range

3.3V~ 4.3V , 3.8V Typ.

 

 

Operation Temperature

-40 °C ~ +85 °C

 

 

Dimensions

32.0mm × 29.0mm × 2.4mm

 

 

Package

LCC

 

 

Weight

Approx. 4.9g

 

 

Control via AT commands

3GPP TS27.007 and enhanced AT Commands

 

 

 

 

 

Specifications

 

 

DATA

LTE

LTE FDD: Max 10Mbps (DL) Max 5Mbps (UL)

LTE TDD: Max 8.96Mbps (DL) Max 3.1Mbps (UL)

 

 

 

DC-HSPA+

Max 42Mbps (DL) Max5.76Mbps(UL)

 

 

 

UMTS

Max 384Kbps(DL) Max 384Kbps(UL)

 

 

 

EDGE

Max 236.8Kbps (DL) Max 236.8Kbps (UL)

 

 

 

GPRS

Max 85.6Kbps (DL) Max 85.6Kbps (UL)

 

 

Voice

Speech Codec Modes

HR, FR, EFR, AMR, AMR-WB

 

 

Echo Arithmetic

Echo Cancellation
Noise Reduction

 

 

eCall*

Accident, Emergency Services

 

 

VoLTE

Digital Audio and VoLTE (Voice over LTE) (Optional)

 

 

Protocols

TCP/ UDP/ PPP/ FTP/ HTTP/ NTP/ PING/ QMI/

HTTPS*/ SMTP*/ MMS*/ FTPS*/ SMTPS*/ SSL*

 

 

 

 

 

Special Features

 

 

Drivers

USB Serial

Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7,

Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10, Linux 2.6 or later,

Android 4.0/4.2/4.4/5.0/5.1/6.0

 

 

RIL

Android 4.0/4.2/4.4/5.0/5.1/6.0

 

 

NIDS

Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7,

Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10

 

 

ECM*

Linux 2.6 or later

 

 

Gobinet

Linux 2.6 or later

 

 

Linux qmi wwan

Linux 3.4 or later

 

 

DFOTA

Delta firmware upgrade over the air

 

 

BT4.0/WiFi *

Optional

 

 

GNSS

GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou/Galileo/QZSS (Optional)

 

 

 

 

 

Electrical Characteristics

 

 

Output Power

Class 3 (23dBm±2dB) for LTE FDD

Class 3 (23dBm±2dB) for LTE TDD

Class 3 (24dBm+1/-3dB) for UMTS

Class E2 (27dBm±3dB) for EDGE 850/900MHz

Class E2 (26dBm+3/-4dB) for EDGE 1800/1900MHz

Class 4 (33dBm±2dB) for GSM 850/900MHz

Class 1 (30dBm±2dB) for GSM 1800/1900MHz

 

 

Consumption

20uA @Power off

3mA @Sleep, Typ.

22mA @Idle

 

 

Sensitivity

LTE B1: -101.5dBm (10M) LTE B20: -102.5dBm (10M)

LTE B2: -101dBm (10M) LTE B28: -102dBm (10M)

LTE B3: -101.5dBm (10M) UMTS B1: -110dBm

LTE B4: -101dBm (10M) UMTS B2: -110dBm

LTE B5: -101dBm (10M) UMTS B4: -110dBm

LTE B7: -99.5dBm (10M) UMTS B5: -110.5dBm

LTE B8: -101dBm (10M) UMTS B8: -110.5dBm

LTE B12: -101dBm (10M) GSM: -109dBm

LTE B13: -100dBm (10M) DCS: -109dBm

 

 

 

 

 

Interfaces

 

 

USB 2.0 Device

High Speed, 480Mbps

 

 

PCM

× 1, Digital Audio through PCM Interface (Optional)

 

 

USIM

1.8V/3V

 

 

NETLIGHT

×2, NET_STATUS and NET_MODE

 

 

UART

× 1, UART

 

 

RESET

 

 

 

PWRKEY

 

 

 

Antenna

Pads for Primary, Rx-diversity and GNSS

 

 

ADC

× 2

 

 

 

 

 

Certification

 

 

Approval

FCC/ CE*/ CCC*/ SRRC*/ NAL*/ PTCRB*/ AT&T*/ GCF*/ Verizon*/ RCM*/ Telstra*/ JATE&TELEC*

 

 

 

 

 

* Under development