Gateways have been the unsung heroes of cellular connectivity for a long time. You'd notice if we didn't have this segment of telecommunications as a part of our everyday lives.
If they fail, we’d have trouble getting sodas out of some vending machines, automatic teller machines would eat our debit cards and not dispense cash, road construction signs would not update, and billions of Internet of Things devices would not function.
Gateways keep connected societies connected. They aggregate data from various network segments, which might be running various protocols. Gateways support various I/O interfaces, including wired, wireless, and even serial connections. Gateway technology will become even more widespread with the development of smart homes and smart cities. According to the article Internet of Things (IoT) Node and Gateway Global Market Report 2022, the market is forecast to grow from $7.54 billion (USD) in 2021 to $10.21 billion (USD) in 2022.
Gateways make smart homes and cities safer. They reduce a network's attack surface. Resource-strained IoT transmissions have fewer hops when a gateway handles the bulk of edge analytics and computing. This can reduce unauthorized access and man-in-the-middle attacks. This has become increasingly important as the pandemic created more remote working environments that require secure connectivity.
Engineers have plenty of solution-based gateway products to design secure and reliable connections. In this week's New Tech Tuesdays, we'll look at new gateway products from MultiTech, ORing, and Taoglas.
MultiTech's MultiConnect® eCell Cellular to Ethernet Bridge adds cellular connectivity to existing wired assets. The device provides always-on connectivity to vending machines, kiosks, digital signs, automated teller machines, and several other fixed assets. The bridge is a little thicker than an average deck of playing cards (81mm x 63.5mm x 30.5mm), but its aluminum chassis is designed for extreme environments. Designers will be happy to learn that the device has several carrier certifications, which reduces time to market and cost. The bridge has available connectivity for 4G-LTE Cat 4 (MTE Series) and Private LTE OnGo CBRS Cat 12 Networks (MTE2 Series).
ORing IMG-4312D+-D4G LTE Cellular M2M Gateway can provide connectivity for cloud computing, IoT, and Industry 4.0 applications. The device is ideal for remote secured data collection from the factory floor or environmental sensors and for serving control commands from cloud platforms for changing the end-device status. The gateway integrates an LTE module that supports 2G, 3.5G, and 4G technologies. The device is offered in US (IMG-4312D+-D4G_US) and European ( IMG-4312D+-D4G_EU) frequency bands.
Taoglas G45 Olympian II 5G/4G Permanent-Mount Antenna is IP67 rated, ideal for external use on vehicles and in outdoor assets (such as digital signage) that require cellular connectivity. The G45 is only 48.5mm tall and 50mm in diameter. The 5G/4G antenna coverages all major worldwide cellular bands, including sub 6GHz, 5G FR1 bands as well as worldwide 5G/4G bands. G45 can be mounted on metal or plastic, but if lower frequency bands are required, it functions best on when mounted on a metal ground-plane.
Gateways have evolved over the years, becoming more than hardware capable of protocol translation. The proliferation of IoT devices, which face difficult deployment without a gateway setup, means an increased demand for gateway development.
Tommy Cummings is a freelance writer/editor based in Texas. He's had a journalism career that has spanned more than 40 years. He contributes to Texas Monthly and Oklahoma Today magazines. He's also worked at The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, San Francisco Chronicle, and others. Tommy covered the dot-com boom in Silicon Valley and has been a digital content and audience engagement editor at news outlets. Tommy worked at Mouser Electronics from 2018 to 2021 as a technical content and product content specialist.