ST87M01-1111 Embedded SIM / Vodafone Profile Availability in Turkey

[ctrana]

Hello,
I am developing a small standalone wearable emergency device and I am considering the ST87M01-1111 because of its integrated GNSS, NB-IoT connectivity and embedded SIM.
According to ST’s documentation, the ST87M01-1111 can be supplied with an embedded Vodafone SIM profile.
I would like to clarify a few points before selecting this module:
1. Can the embedded Vodafone SIM profile of the ST87M01-1111 connect to a Vodafone NB-IoT network in Turkey?
2. Is the embedded Vodafone profile already provisioned/activated, or does the user need to obtain an IoT subscription separately?
3. Can an individual developer use this embedded SIM/profile for a small prototype, or is a corporate/IoT agreement required?
4. If the Vodafone profile cannot be used in Turkey, can another SGP.32-compatible IoT SIM profile (for example from a global IoT connectivity provider) be provisioned to the ST87M01-1111?
5. Is the ST87M01-1111 currently available as a small-quantity/sample purchase, and if not, what is the recommended way to obtain it?
My main goal is to understand whether I can build a standalone device without using a physical SIM card.
Thank you.

[Andrew Neil]

wearable emergency device …  NB-IoT 

Is that a good fit?

NB-IoT is not great for mobility - LTE-M might be better ?

[ctrana]

Thank you for pointing that out. Mobility is indeed an important consideration for my application.
I was initially considering the ST87M01 because of its compact size, low power consumption, GNSS support and embedded SIM option. However, I understand that LTE-M may be more suitable for applications involving mobility.
My main requirements are compact size, low power consumption and reliable cellular connectivity.
Thank you for your guidance.

[Didier HERROUIN]

Dear ctrana,

Based on your requirements (compact size, low power consumption and reliable cellular connectivity), NBIOT is perfectly suitable. The main advantages compared to LTE-M is its lower price (due to lower complexity) and its lower consumption : the device will wake-up only when it needs to send data.

Effectively, it does not support cell handover (it can be a drawback if the device continuously changes cell). And in some countries, the network coverage must be checked with the operators.

About embedded Vodaphone SIM, it is possible, but it can be planned only for projects with very large quantities, as it requires a specific logistic on the ST production lines (which will be reserved for the production of the customer batch only).
Note that the ST87M01 supports also external eSIM, which can be soldered on your pcb.

Best regards,