Sequans will work with NTT DoCoMo on narrowband IoT devices and applications on the carrier’s network
French company Sequans Communications announced that it has executed an agreement with Japanese telecommunications group NTT DoCoMo to accelerate the development of NB-IoT devices and applications on the telco’s network.
NTT DoCoMo will use Sequans’ Monarch LTE Platform, which is an optimized LTE-M/NB-IoT chip solution, and Monarch N, an NB-IoT-only version of Monarch.
The two companies have been working together for several years, beginning first with LTE Cat 1 technology, then with LTE-M, and now with NB-IoT. The partners said that the goal of the new agreement is to develop and mature an end-to-end NB-IoT ecosystem in the Japanese market.
“Sequans’ Monarch technology will help us in reaching widespread adoption of NB-IoT technology in Japan,” said Toshiyuki Futakata, vice president and general manager of the communication device development department, at NTT DoCoMo. “Following our successful work together on LTE-M, we look forward to continuing our success in NB-IoT.”
“DoCoMo is an IoT leader, building a strong network and offering highly competitive solutions, including everything needed for its IoT customers to be successful,” said Georges Karam, Sequans CEO. “We are very pleased to support DoCoMo with NB-IoT technology that offers proven superior low power consumption and simplified integration, and we look forward to seeing the launch of many new NB-IoT devices and applications on DoCoMo’s NB-IoT network.”
Monarch LTE Cat M1/NB1 chip integrates the baseband, RF transceiver, power management, and RAM memory into a single package. Sequans Communications highlighted that Monarch is fully compliant with the 3GPP’s Release 13 definitions for narrowband LTE (LTE-M and NB-IoT). In addition, Monarch supports advanced features such as programmable RF filtering for global band support in a single SKU, and proprietary dynamic power management technology for ultra low power consumption.
Sequans Communications is fabless company that markets integrated circuits for 4G mobile phone technology, based in Paris, France with offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and China.
Last month, IoT specialist Telit announced that its Telit ME910C1-J1 module was being used in a field trial of a delivery service application implemented by NTT DoCoMo.
Telit said that the ME910C1-J1 features Telit’s simWISE technology, a solution that replaces the SIM card and tray with module-embedded SIM technology. This architecture reduces the cost of manufacturing, deploying and maintaining connected products, Telit said.
NTT DoCoMo is using the ME910C1-J1 at the Fujisawa sustainable smart town, a joint public-private community development project in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa prefecture. One of the use cases being implemented in this smart city project is the tracking of package delivery through real-time notifications.
Telit’s ME910C1-J1 module supports maximum downlink and uplink data rates of 250-375 kbps.
