In this report we examine the capabilities of the newly arrived 5G Reduced Capability (RedCap) technology, its applicability to the various IoT use cases that demand cellular connectivity, and the prognosis for how successful it is likely to be in claiming a place in the portfolio of cellular technologies.
The latest iteration of the 3GPP standards for mobile telecommunications, Release 17, includes a new category of technology aimed specifically at IoT: 5G Reduced Capability NR (or RedCap for short). This technology is intended to offer lower complexity devices for 5G New Radio in a similar way to the mMTC technologies NB-IoT and LTE-M, delivering lower complexity devices (and therefore lower power consumption) at a more cost-effective price-point than 5G NR.
In this report we examine the capabilities of 5G RedCap, its applicability to the various IoT use cases that demand cellular connectivity, and the prognosis for how successful it is likely to be in claiming a place in the portfolio of cellular technologies.
