EXCLUSIVE: Meet the Engineer Behind Walter

Exclusive: Meet the Engineer Behind Walter – the open-source cellular module that's quietly redefining low-power IoT.

In this behind-the-scenes founder cut, I sat down with Dan Pape, the creator of the Walter board, to go deep on:

Why he built Walter from scratch instead of using off-the-shelf options

The real difference between NB-IoT and LTE-M (and how most people get it wrong)

What it actually takes to build a CE + FCC-certified board

How to achieve multi-year battery life using eDRX, PSM, and smart antenna design

The design decisions that make Walter uniquely open — and why he chose GPLv3

We also talked SIM cards, passive antennas, modem quirks, and what he almost did completely differently.

“It’s not the active current that kills your battery. It’s everything else.”

If you care about ultra-low-power design, embedded connectivity, or just want to hear from someone who actually builds this stuff — this is for you.

🧠 Bonus segments include:

The story behind the name “Walter”

The biggest myth about cellular IoT

What he wants you to build with it