Sequans Communications and Asiatelco, Shanghai-based maker of wireless devices for carriers worldwide, announced that four new IoT trackers based on Sequans and Asiatelco technology are launching on LTE-M networks in the USA, with other regions to follow.
The announcement comes one year after Sequans and Asiatelco announced their collaboration to bring LTE for IoT devices to market based on Sequans’ dual-mode LTE-M/NB-IoT Platform, Monarch. The trackers are built using Asiatelco modules with Sequans’ Monarch inside, and were designed for various uses, including asset tracking and vehicle tracking for insurance and buy-here-pay-here applications. The new trackers will be on display at CES 2019.
“Our collaboration with Asiatelco has been very fruitful, and we are pleased to see these first four IoT trackers now going live,” said Georges Karam, Sequans CEO.
“Some of the new trackers are from customers moving to LTE-M from 2G technology, and some are from customers launching LTE-M trackers for the first time. All of the devices can also support NB-IoT, thanks to the dual-mode operation of Monarch.”
“The new devices are the first four of several we expect to see launching this year based on the Asiatelco/Sequans collaboration.”
“Sequans’ Monarch technology is proven in the field and certified by operators all over the world,” said Jason Ding, Asiatelco CEO. “The global compatibility of Monarch, along with its sophisticated software tools, streamlined our design process and enabled us to replicate it easily for new regions and markets. The Monarch family of products, including Monarch SiP and Monarch N, all based on the same core architecture and the same software, allowed us to design new products and derivatives in a very short amount of time.”
The trackers are building using Asiatelco’s LM91-MV module, which was designed to support LTE bands 4 and 13 in the USA, and Sequans’ GM01Q module, built by Asiatelco and designed to support global LTE bands. The modules, both powered by Sequans’ Monarch platform, are ultra-small LGA modules delivering LTE-M 3GPP Release 13 connectivity and operating with a single LTE antenna.
Sequans’ Monarch provides full support for power saving mode (PSM) and extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) to enable the long battery life needed by many IoT use cases, and it provides the enhanced coverage modes defined in the standard that extend coverage for deep-indoor and remote deployments. Monarch comprises baseband, RF, power management, and RAM, all integrated into a single, tiny 6.5 x 8.5 mm package. In addition, the chip supports advanced features such as programmable RF filtering for global band support in a single SKU, and proprietary dynamic power management technology enabling battery life of 10+ years.
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