Sequans Communications unveiled its “Monarch” LTE Cat M chip, compliant with the 3GPP Release 13 LTE Advanced Pro standard that defines new narrowband capabilities of LTE for machine-type-communications (LTE MTC).
The Sequans Monarch chip supports the vast new range of low data use, ultra low-power, cost-sensitive, narrowband IoT applications such as smart energy meters, industrial IoT sensors, asset trackers, smart city controllers, and consumer wearables. The design integrates baseband, RF, RAM, and power management are integrated in a single, tiny 6.5 x 8 mm FC-CSP package. Monarch supports both of the narrowband categories defined in the Release 13 standard: Cat M1, 1.4 MHz bandwidth; and Cat M2, 200 kHz bandwidth.
Monarch also includes: 1) a programmable RF filtering technology that enables the simple design of a single worldwide SKU that supports nearly any LTE band and enables global roaming; and 2) Sequans’ exclusive low power technology, Dynamic Power Management (DPM), that dynamically adapts chip-level power profiles in real time based on traffic patterns and use cases, making possible 10-15 years2 of battery life in real-world IoT applications.
“Monarch is the industry’s first Cat M1/M2 chip and it is highly optimized to address the size, cost and power requirements of IoT applications,” said Georges Karam, Sequans CEO. “We’ve innovated to minimize power consumption, reduce the bill-of-materials, and simplify implementation of a global-ready device to maximize Monarch’s market reach. The release of Monarch extends Sequans’ LTE for IoT leadership–proven last year with the introduction of our Cat 1 chipset, Calliope–and highlights Sequans’ strong commitment to perfecting the use of LTE for IoT, now including an entire new class of narrowband devices.”
Monarch chip features
- Narrowband LTE UE categories M1 and M2
- Compliant with 3GPP Release 13 (LTE Advanced Pro) for machine type communications (MTC)
- Single chip 6.5 x 8 mm FC-CSP package
- Integrated baseband, RF transceiver, memory, and power management
- Supports extended DRX and PSM network features for long sleep duration use cases
- Includes Sequans’ proprietary Dynamic Power Management (DPM) technology for 10-15 years2 of battery life
- Programmable RF filtering for global band support in a single-SKU design
- Optimized for half-duplex FDD (HD-FDD) operation; also supports full-duplex FDD and TDD
- Throughput:
- LTE UE category M1 (1.4 MHz bandwidth) up to 300 kbps DL/375 kbps UL in HD-FDD
- LTE UE category M2 (200 kHz bandwidth) up to 40 kbps DL/55 kbps UL in HD-FDD
- Supports wide variety of embedded and host operating systems
- Low power serial interfaces
Sequans’ StreamliteLTE product family now includes Monarch, Calliope and Colibri LTE chipset platforms.