Because, I’ve been working on one that doesn’t require external antennae.
It protrudes around 1 1/2 inches, the sim card slots in at the front end.
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You might be able to, Idk, develop an extremely-long range RFID system. Honestly, this can be quite large, as it can be hidden behind the display.
An RFID sticker could also provide a unique identifier that this is your computer, without having to authenticate or have it on.
Still, there are ways to make things fit.
For example: Man turns his AirTag into a card that fits in wallets - HardwareZone.com.sg
This reverse engineering blog, Apple AirTag Reverse Engineering - Adam Catley
It won’t be as compact as what @Moe_Wigs has planned out but pairing a USB 3.1 Type A to M.2 B-Key Board (ADT-WS15) and a USB 3.1 Type A Female to USB C Male (ADT UT1B-US4B) should work out. That would allow 5G Snapdragon X55 M.2 cards to be used. I think the price has pretty much bottomed out. Took about 3ish years to come down to the $100 price point. As the X62 cards are also appearing on Ali, I’d expect them to take about the same length of time to be just as affordable.
Source:
ADT-WS15 | adt.link
ADT-WS15 | AliExpress
ADT UT1B-US4B | adt.link
ADT UT1B-US4B | AliExpress
Snapdragon X55 M.2 Module | AliExpress
Snapdragon X62 M.2 Module | AliExpress
any more developments on this because this what i am looking for.
I know this has been asked several times, but the last time was some time ago. Are there any plans for a LTE (4/5G) modem module? it would make my life way easier. when i used a surface it was build in and that is one thing i really miss.
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Good evening all. I’m Jacob Eva, representing my company Liberated Embedded Systems Ltd.
We have been working on an LTE expansion card for quite some time now, and we’re excited to show some early renders of our module for your reference!
Top view.
Rear view.
This module will support 4G LTE speeds (no 5G, too expensive!) and has three connectors for antennas. The two larger connectors are SMA connectors, with the antenna on the left being the primary antenna, and the one on the right an optional diversity antenna. We also have a U.FL connector to allow for the connection of a GPS antenna (yes it works!) to the laptop. We have additionally included a nano SIM card holder on the bottom of the module to facilitate inserting a SIM card, so you can actually connect 
Might I also add, this will be open source hardware (design files will be released after completion), so no anti-consumer withholding schematics shenanigans
We expect to be performing some test trading of this module once we have put it to production, which should be within the next couple of months.
Therefore, for any of you who may be interested in purchasing our module, please email us at contact@liberatedsystems.co.uk to sign up for our newsletter (please also include your country of residence too so we know where our market will be!) so that we may notify you when it will be available to purchase 
That’s all for now, technology for freedom.
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Interesting! But… If it’s a 4G module… How to insert the SIM card?
Apologies, I forgot to mention this! There is a nano push-push SIM card holder on the bottom of the PCB (there will be a small hole in the side of the final module), into which you can insert a nano SIM card
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Similar to the initial proposal in the 1st post of this thread/topic?
Yes, that’s right.
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That module is going to be extremely long when assembled, I hope you are going to reinforce it as that will very easily break (3D printed) What module are you using as there are only two that I know of that fit, which have country specific modules?
The best cellular expansion card is the one that actually exists, so I really hope that this becomes a reality! Perfect is the enemy of good.
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It will exceed the dimensions of the expansion bay, yes, but only by a couple centimeters at most. This is required due to the SMA connectors.
This is an early design, much can still change after reflection
I won’t discuss this for now I’m afraid. However, once we begin selling, the design will be open-sourced.
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I’m asking to know what bands it can support which is a perfectly reasonable question.
Apologies. In that case, we will have options which will support different regions. Since we are based in the UK, our first prototypes will support those European bands (which should mean it will work within the EU), with future versions supporting other economic areas too.
Regardless, if you are an American or from other continents, please still get in touch with us so we can gauge interest.
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Is it possible to add some B2B connectors (for example, HD-AFI) on Framework, so cards can use internal antennas, instead of having to add their own ones?
This also give users a chance to customize their antenna. You can, for example, develop a SDR card, or even build your own Wi-Fi module
I don’t believe this is possible I’m afraid, given the constraints we have as developers.
We have updates on the progression of our development of the LTE expansion card, which we are now calling the openCom LTE. You can find more information on our website.
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SIAP: Per the above link - at least for the USD $ option
“Orders will open sometime in August.”
Awesome. This community draws engineering talent.
Best of luck with this JE & company!