Does the Qolsys IQ control panel cellular radio use CDMA or 4G LTE for communication? If it’s CDMA is it upgradable to 4G or does it require the purchase of a new controller?
The Qolsys panel cellular is not upgradeable, the cellular communicator is built in. That’s why they only used Verizon CDMA and didn’t manufacture GSM/GPRS panels. They are planning an HSPA version of their panel some time soon.
The idea is that by the time the cellular service is shut down your panel will be so outdated that you’ll have already upgraded to a new one anyway. You’re cell phone isn’t upgradeable to newer cellular technologies is it? These panels are in the same price range as a cell phone.
Building the cellular communicator into the panel helped Qolsys save on cost and circuit board real estate, and it increased quality control for the cellular communicators dramatically. I see 2GIG cellular modules go bad or cause problems sometimes due to the looser physical coupling and the fact that humans have to handle them during installation. I don’t see that happen with Qolsys. Consider that replacing a 2GIG cellular module costs more than 1/3 what a new panel costs anyway.
It’s a trade off and there are pros and cons either way, but Qolsys chose to build it in just like the cell phone manufacturers do.
See this other recent post about the expected lifespan of Verizon CDMA for M2M applications.
According to Verizon M2M’s Aparna Khurjekar, Verizon’s vice president of global strategy for M2M, the CDMA sunset is 2021, and M2M CDMA (2GIG, QOLSYS, etc) will be shortly thereafter.
Aparna Khurjekar, Verizon's vice president of global strategy for M2M, confirmed the sunset date to FierceWireless during a meeting here on the sidelines for the [2012] CTIA MobileCon trade show. "We are giving a decade worth of pre-warning," she said.
Indeed, Verizon's 2021 sunset date is far more important to its machine-to-machine customers than to its smartphone-toting customer base. M2M applications generally are designed to run for years on the same equipment. Khurjekar said Verizon would give its M2M customers "several years" of leeway past the 2021 sunset date if they needed it.http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/verizon-wireless-sunset-2g-and-3g-cdma-networks-2021/2012-10-10?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss