U.S. Cellular today announced that it has launched its LTE-M network on more than 90% of its cell sites nationwide, with plans to have them 100% covered in the second quarter of 2020. The LTE-M network is a reliable, secure and cost-effective way for businesses to connect large amounts of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in both urban and rural areas and hard-to-reach environments.

LTE-M is the global cellular standard designed and optimized for IoT connectivity. U.S. Cellular’s LTE-M network is ideal for IoT solutions such as fleet and asset management, tank monitoring, smart meters and other applications because of its low power wide area technology (LPWAN) that provides extended coverage at a lower cost. Low power or battery-limited LTE-M devices can be less complex, lower cost and built for mass adoption of IoT applications and deployment.

“Our LTE-M network brings our business and government customers capabilities and features that will enable an entirely new set of use cases to help them improve their operations and grow their business,” said Jim Anetsberger, vice president of business sales at U.S. Cellular. “We want to set our IoT customers up for future success with solutions that are designed to meet their specific needs. Working together with our vendors and customers, we can unleash the potential of our LTE-M network.”

U.S. Cellular currently supports several LTE-M modules, including the Telit ME910C1-WW and ME910C1-NA, Quectel BG96 and u-blox SARA-R410M, with additional vendors coming soon. As the company continues to build out and evolve its LTE-M network, new features and capabilities will be added.