ARDUINO MKR GSM 1400 takes advantage of the cellular network as a means of communication. The GSM / 3G network covers the largest percentage of the world's surface area, making this a very attractive connectivity option when other connectivity options do not exist. Whether you're looking to build a gateway for your remote sensor network, or if you need a single device that sends a text message when an event occurs on the other side of the country, the ARDUINO MKR GSM 1400 will help you quickly implement a solution to meet your needs. The board's main processor is a low-power 32-bit Arm® Cortex®-M0 SAMD21, as in the other boards in the Arduino MKR family. GSM / 3G connectivity is performed with a module from u-blox, the SARA-U201, a low-power chipset operating in the different bands of the cellular range (GSM 850 MHz, E-GSM 1900 MHz, DCS 1800 MHz, PCS 1900 MHz). In addition, secure communication is guaranteed by Microchip®'s ECC508 cryptographic chip. Besides that, you can find a battery charger and a connector for an external antenna. Arduino IoT Cloud Use your MKR board on Arduino's IoT Cloud, a quick and easy way to ensure secure communications for all your connected stuff.
Arduino has made connecting to a GSM network as easy as flashing an LED. You can set up or receive calls, send and receive text messages, and access data networks to exchange data with different types of servers. You can even create your own server that operates on the GPRS data network! The specific set of examples we provide for ARDUINO MKR GSM 1400 can be found on the MKRGSM library reference page. Compatible with other cloud services You can also connect your board to several cloud services, including Arduino's. Here are some examples on how to connect the MKR GSM 1400 to:
Blynk: a simple project from our community that connects to Blynk to operate the board from a phone to remotely control two different relays.
SORACOM Air IoT: a specific case using the SORACOM platform on how to connect to send and graph data from a temperature sensor.
Google Spreadsheets via Arduino IoT Cloud: collect data from an industrial sensor, send it to Arduino IoT Cloud via cellular network and from there to a GSheet using webhook.
The default option for ARDUINO MKR GSM 1400 does NOT include a SIM card, you can connect the card to any carrier of your choice. However, if you are interested in a worldwide coverage option for your solution, at Arduino we have created Arduino SIM - MKR GSM. The package that includes the exclusive Arduino SIM card will bring your board online from (almost) anywhere in the world and connect to Arduino IoT Cloud (only). You can also purchase the SIM card separately. The Arduino SIM only sends data to the Arduino IoT Cloud. This way, we provide you with a secure communication channel from the device to the dashboard. Once the data reaches Arduino IoT Cloud, you can connect it to other platforms and services via webhook or the Arduino IoT API.
Its USB port can be used to provide power (5V) to the board. It has a Li-Po charging circuit that allows the board to operate on battery power or an external 5-volt source, charging the Li-Po battery while operating on external power. Switching from one source to another is done automatically. Communication over cellular networks requires current peaks above the maximum a USB port can provide. While the port reaches 500mA, a typical GSM handshake (when the card boots and registers to a network provider) could easily reach a peak of 2A. Therefore we recommend providing a source with a higher current limit than Vin, or having a LiPo battery of at least 2500 mAh.
If you are still deciding on the right wireless protocol for your solution, Arduino's MKR family has some alternatives to offer:
MKR FOX 1200: for your UE solutions on Sigfox infrastructure.
MKR WAN 1310: if you want to experiment with LoRa® or LoRaWAN ?
MKR NB 1500: if your solution is designed around narrowband IoT.
