2G or 4G? Choosing a GPS tracker for an Indian fleet

A vehicle tracker is a small computer with a satellite navigation receiver and a mobile modem: it works out where the vehicle is and reports that position, with speed and ignition state. What separates a good purchase from an expensive one is how it is powered, which networks it can use, what it can be wired to, and how carefully it is fitted.

List what you need to know about each vehicle first. Location and trips only? Engine on and off? Litres in the tank? Temperature in the load body? A panic button? Each answer points at a different class of device, so write it down before you look at a price.

Hardwired trackers connect to the vehicle’s power and ignition lines behind the dashboard. They are harder to find and remove, and give you wires for inputs and outputs. Teltonika’s FMB920 (2G) and FMC920 (4G LTE Cat 1) are compact hardwired units with an internal backup battery, and Teltonika markets the FMB920 for remote immobilising and for ignition, door and alarm status.

Plug-in trackers go into the OBD-II diagnostic port: fitting takes minutes and needs no wiring. Teltonika’s FMB003 (2G) and FMC003 (4G LTE Cat 1) read OBD data, which Teltonika says gives the real odometer and fuel level. But anything that plugs in can be unplugged, there are no wired inputs for a panic button or an immobiliser, and what comes back depends on the vehicle.

A backup battery keeps a tracker reporting after its main power is cut, which for theft recovery is the whole point. Capacity varies widely, from 45 mAh on the FMB003 to 1800 mAh on the TFT100, so read it off the datasheet.

2G (GSM) trackers are inexpensive and well proven, and a position report is tiny, so tracking has never needed fast data. The catch is that a 2G-only tracker works only where an operator still runs a GSM network, and only on that operator’s SIM.

Almost all of India’s mobile data now runs on 4G and 5G: TRAI puts 2G at 45 petabytes out of 77,953 petabytes in the quarter ending March 2026, about 0.06%. That measures traffic, not coverage. GSM networks are still switched on, and a tracker needs almost no data. But not every operator has one: Reliance’s 2018-19 annual report described Jio as an all-IP network supporting Voice over LTE, and it carries no GSM layer, so a 2G-only tracker needs a SIM from an operator that still runs GSM. No one can say when those networks will be retired, which is the real risk in a multi-year purchase.

4G LTE Cat 1 trackers use ordinary 4G networks, and Teltonika’s FMC models fall back to 2G, so they keep reporting where 4G is thin. Check any other make for that fallback, and for the band variant: manufacturers sell regional versions, and your operators’ bands must be on the list.

Where one network is weak on a regular route, a dual-SIM unit such as the FMC125 holds a second operator’s SIM and switches when the first drops out.

The useful extra data arrives through the tracker’s connections. A digital input reads ignition, a door switch or a panic button. A digital output drives a relay, for remote immobilising. An analogue input takes a sensor that reports as a voltage. Teltonika markets the FMC920 for temperature, humidity and liquid-level monitoring, but its product page does not say which interface those sensors use, so confirm that with your distributor before buying one.

For fuel, most fleets fit a level sensor in the tank and wire it to the tracker, so buy one with the right port. The FMB125 and FMC125 carry RS232 and RS485 alongside a CAN adapter input and 1-Wire, which is what fuel-level sensors, RFID readers and driver-ID buttons connect to. The FMB920 has one digital input, one output and one analogue input, and no RS232, RS485 or 1-Wire, so it will not take wired accessories of that kind. Teltonika does market it for fuel monitoring, so ask which interface your sensor needs.

Mount a panic button where a driver can reach it without looking, and press it at handover. Immobilisers need more care: cutting fuel at speed is dangerous, so only disable a vehicle at rest, and decide who may send the command.

Bikes and scooters are hard on hardware: rain, road spray, engine heat and vibration, with few places to hide the unit. Look for an ingress protection rating on the datasheet, and read it properly. Under IEC 60529 the first digit covers solids, on a scale from 0 to 6, where 6 means no ingress of dust; the second covers liquids, on a scale from 0 to 9 in the current edition, Edition 2.2, which added the ninth level in 2013.

A second digit of 4 means protection against splashing water only. A 7 means the enclosure survives temporary immersion, which the standard tests by thirty minutes under water, at a depth of one metre for an enclosure the size of a tracker. So an IP41 or IP54 unit belongs in a cabin, not under a seat through a monsoon, and that includes the FMB920 and FMC920, both IP54. Teltonika’s TFT100 is rated IP67 and takes 10 to 97 V, which suits electric two-wheelers, but it is 2G-only, with the same operator caveat. There is no sealed 4G unit in this range, so a 4G two-wheeler fit means an IP54 device in a genuinely dry, sheltered mounting, where the rating does none of the work. Check the supported trackers page for the current choice.

For public service vehicles, a tracker is not a management choice. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways notified G.S.R. 1095(E) on 28 November 2016, requiring a vehicle location tracking device and one or more emergency buttons in public service vehicles, excluding two-wheelers, e-rickshaws, three-wheelers and vehicles that need no permit. Under rule 125H of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, new public service vehicles registered on or after 1 January 2019 must be fitted; for those registered up to 31 December 2018, S.O. 5454(E) of 25 October 2018 leaves the date to the state.

Goods vehicles are covered separately, and far more simply. Notification G.S.R. 617(E) of 3 August 2022 requires every vehicle of categories N2 and N3 carrying dangerous or hazardous goods to be fitted with a vehicle tracking system device as per AIS 140, where it was manufactured on or after 1 September 2022 for new models, or 1 January 2023 for existing models. That is the whole obligation: no emergency button, and none of the registration procedure below. Those are dates of manufacture, not retrofit deadlines, so check your trucks’ type approval.

A tracker bought for fleet management is not automatically a compliant one. AIS-140 devices are type-approved by the testing agencies referred to in rule 126, and ARAI publishes its own list, covering devices that receive GPS and IRNSS, which is NavIC, India’s own constellation. As on 29 January 2026 that list holds no Teltonika model, and the Teltonika trackers in this guide do not receive IRNSS. Other agencies keep their own lists, so check the one that matters to your supplier, and that its conformity of production is in date.

Fitment is regulated too, for public service vehicles. The VLT device manufacturer or its authorised dealer installs the device and registers it, with the vehicle details, on the backend system, and uploads the device details to VAHAN. Your state checks fitment and functional status at fitness certification. This is general guidance, not legal advice, so confirm with your RTO or state transport department.

A good tracker badly fitted is a bad tracker. A device with internal antennas needs a clear view of the sky, clean power and a ground fixed to bare metal on the frame.

Ask your installer for a photograph of every fitment and a test drive before you sign anything off. Check that ignition shows correctly, that the panic button raises an alert, that the track follows the road, and that the unit keeps reporting after main power is disconnected.

Configuration decides how often a tracker reports and which events it sends. Teltonika Configurator sets FMB-platform devices up over cable or Bluetooth, and FOTA WEB assigns firmware and configuration files to groups of devices in bulk. Keep one tested configuration per model, and roll every change out to a few vehicles first.