AT&T has certified Sequans’ Monarch IoT chipset, which supports both LTE Category M1 (Cat M) and narrowband IoT in a single device. AT&T customers who deploy modules that use one IoT protocol will be able to convert the devices to the other protocol in the future through a software update if they choose to. The chip uses programmable RF filtering technology to enable operation on any LTE band worldwide.
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“Our goal is to offer our customers a wide array of cost-effective, low power consuming LTE IoT modules, and we are pleased to have Monarch-based modules now available through AT&T channels,” said Cameron Coursey, VP for IoT solutions at AT&T.
AT&T’s first Cat M1 modules using Monarch will come from Wistron Neweb. The company’s IMS2 module is available through the AT&T’s IoT Accelerator Program.
AT&T launched its Cat M1 network last spring, as did Verizon. Neither of the Tier 1 operators has launched a narrowband IoT network, but T-Mobile US has said it will roll out NB-IoT in 2018.
“All this LTE-M and NB-IoT technology, it’s designed from scratch for IoT applications,” said Sequans CEO Georges Karam. “Power efficiency is a key feature and this is really happening for the first time in the telco world.”
AT&T’s certification of the Monarch platform follows the carrier’s certification of Sequans’ LTE Category 1 module. Verizon has also certified Sequans’ Cat 1 and Cat M1 solutions.
AT&T has more connected machines on its network than any other U.S. carrier. According to the analysts at Compass Intelligence, AT&T ended the third quarter with 36 million IoT and M2M connections, almost twice as many as Verizon.
