29/06/2026
LTE still works. That is exactly why it is a quiet risk.
Carriers are refarming LTE spectrum toward 5G Standalone. No sunset date, but for assets built to last 10 to 20 years, the network underneath them is already moving.
5G RedCap is the tier built for that gap. Not lite 5G, not a rebrand of LTE:
• 150-220 Mbps peak
• Sub-1W idle draw
• 30-50% lower hardware BOM
• 5G SA required
The decision is not whether to adopt 5G. It is which tier fits your deployment.
Read the engineering guide: https://m2mconnectivity.com.au/where-iot-connectivity-actually-breaks/