Chip news for 12/19/16
1. SIMCom Wireless said it will use Sequans’ LTE chip technology for a series of modules. The maker of “internet of things” and machine-to-machine modules said it will use both of Sequans’ low-power LTE solutions, Calliope and Monach. Calliope is a Category 1 LTE chipset and Monarch is a Category M1 chipset. The first module to be introduced by SIMCom under the agreement will be an LTE Category 1 module said to support Verizon Wireless LTE bands 4 and 13. The module will also support voice-over-LTE technology, which is seen as an important differentiator for voice-activated IoT applications.
2. Sequans also announced an agreement with Dutch startup Pycom, a maker of multinetwork IoT development boards. Sequans’ Monarch chipset will power Pycom’s newest IoT platform, called FiPy. The goal of FiPy is to unite LTE with other proprietary or unlicensed low-power wide-area network technologies into a five network IoT connectivity solution. The company is raising funds for its venture through Kickstarter.
3. Intel added another name to its growing roster of IoT partners. Cumulocity, which says it has been working with Intel for six years, joined the Intel IoT Solutions Alliance, which provides partners early access to the chipmaker’s roadmaps and support for their designs. The 500-member community includes developers of hardware, software, systems and services.
Cumulocity is an IoT platform designed for real-time analytics and predictive maintenance, as well as remote management and control. The company partnered with Deutsche Telekom to develop the carrier’s “Cloud of Things” platform.
4. O2Micro added an IoT expert to its board of directors. The designer of integrated circuits tapped Vijay Kumar to replace Zhuoping Yu, who is resigning from the board. The company said Kumar has extensive experience in embedded internetworking of cyber-physical and IoT systems.
5. The semiconductor industry will return to growth in 2017, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Ross Seymore. Seymore is expecting the sector to grow 5% next year, after a slight contraction this year. Seymore said the market for communications chipsets is likely to grow 7%, outpaced only by the data center and automotive chip sectors, which he said are set to grow 10% and 9%, respectively.
