Coverage and out-of-range logging

Plenty of Territory roads run out of mobile coverage. The FMM003 is built for that: it keeps recording where the vehicle goes and sends the data once it can.

Which network it uses

The FMM003 connects over 4G LTE-M (also called LTE Cat-M1), a part of the 4G network designed for low-power devices like trackers. Its supported LTE bands include band 28 (700 MHz). Band 28 is a low-frequency band, and lower frequencies carry further and get into buildings better — useful in regional and remote areas.

The tracker’s modem is also NB-IoT capable.

Each tracker comes with its SIM already fitted, and mobile data for its standard reporting is included in your plan. Please don’t take the SIM out unless we ask you to (see Removing and refitting the SIM card), and don’t use it in anything else.

GPS doesn’t need mobile coverage

Two different things are going on in the tracker:

• GPS works out where the vehicle is, using satellites. It works anywhere with a view of the sky, including well outside mobile coverage.
• The mobile connection sends that information to the We Track IT platform.

So out of range, the tracker still knows where it is. It just can’t tell anyone yet.

What happens out of coverage

1. The vehicle drives out of range. The tracker keeps recording positions, trips and events as normal.
2. It stores those records in its memory. The FMM003 has 128 MB of flash memory — enough for about 422,400 records.
3. On the live map, the vehicle stays at its last known position with the time of its last update.
4. When the vehicle comes back into coverage, the tracker uploads everything it stored.
5. The trip history fills in, so you can play back the whole trip — including the part out of range.

Note

Alerts raised out of coverage — speeding or a geofence exit, for example — can only reach you once the tracker is back in range. If you need to know about something straight away, bear that in mind for vehicles that work in remote areas.

Reading the map when a vehicle is out of range

A vehicle that hasn’t updated for a while isn’t necessarily faulty. Before you worry:

• Check where it was last seen. Was it heading somewhere remote?
• Check the last update time. A vehicle out bush may be silent for hours, then catch up all at once.
• If it was last seen in town with good coverage and has gone quiet, work through the tracker offline checklist.

Poor coverage spots

Coverage can drop in places you wouldn’t expect: underground car parks, inside steel sheds, between hills, or deep in the scrub. The tracker handles these the same way — it logs and catches up later.

If a vehicle regularly parks somewhere with no signal, you may notice its position updating only when it leaves. That’s expected. If a position looks wrong once it’s back, see position wrong or jumping around.

Want to know more?

See the FMM003 product page for the full specs, or contact us if you’re planning to work somewhere particularly remote. We can talk through what to expect.