U-blox has announced plans to launch modules supporting Category M1 (Cat M1) LTE networks, which will allow a larger number of devices to connect to the Internet of Things (IoT). The first SARA-R4 module will be available by the end of 2016, targeting mobile network operators in the US market.
Along with NB-IoT, the module is part of the new 3GPP Release 13 standard supporting low power wide area (LPWA) technologies in the licensed spectrum and is designed for IoT applications with low to medium data throughput rates, as well as devices that require long battery life. Additionally, the module’s vehicular handover capability delivers the technology necessary to support vehicle, asset and people tracking. It also supports lower latency applications and has a data rate of 375kbps in half duple mode and 1mbps in full duplex mode.
The market focus for the module will cover applications in many areas such as smart homes, security systems, industrial monitoring and control, asset tracking, telematics, connected health, smart metering, smart cities and wearables.