Quectel has championed several IoT-centric announcements, as of late; two that we’ve covered recently have included the company’s introduction of a prepaid connectivity offering to help simplify IoT deployments for European markets, plus its new FGH100M Wi-Fi HaLow module that provides a substantial increase to range (a one kilometer radius, i.e. 10 times the range of traditional Wi-Fi), as well as low power consumption and improved obstruction penetration for both indoor and outdoor IoT use cases.
So, as you can likely guess, more news from the global IoT solutions provider has rolled in.
Quectel has officially announced the launch of its CC200A-LB satellite module, which utilizes satellite IoT connectivity provided by ORBCOMM, provider of efficient IoT communications and solutions.
Designed to provide reliable connectivity and global coverage at a cost-effective price point, this new Quectel module is ideal for applications that range from maritime and transportation, to usage with heavy equipment, agriculture tech, mining, and oil and gas monitoring. (Just a handful of possible examples.)
Per Quectel: “The CC200A-LB module is designed to enable communications in remote areas without cellular network coverage. ORBCOMM provides global connectivity over the IsatData Pro (IDP) satellite service, using the Inmarsat (News - Alert) GEO constellation and L band, and features consistent two-way communication and nearly-real-time reporting capabilities. ORBCOMM’s satellite IoT solution can also be blended with cellular bandwidth to create unique, dual-mode IoT applications with maximum reliability, redundancy, and ubiquitous coverage. The CC200A-LB satellite module is made with a compact LCC+LGA form factor, with dimensions of 37mm x 38mm x 3.35mm. The module also supports multi-constellation GNSS and intuitive AT command set.”
Norbert Muhrer (News - Alert), President and CSO of Quectel Wireless solutions (who was also quoted in yesterday’s Quectel Wi-Fi HaLow module piece), is thrilled about this development.
“Working with ORBCOMM (News - Alert) and introducing the CC200A-LB satellite module to market delivers an ideal solution for such a broad range of IoT applications,” Muhrer said. “We look forward to working with our customers to optimize the module design and meet their specific needs."
Fran Bogle, ORBCOMM’s Chief Revenue Officer, also understands the significance of teaming up with Quectel.
“ORBCOMM’s long-time expertise in satellite IoT, combined with Quectel’s market leadership in the cellular space, creates a powerful platform at significant scale and at extremely attractive price points for a wide variety of global applications,” Bogle said. “With Quectel, we will enable customers to leverage the versatility and reliability of satellite and dual-mode connectivity to ensure continuous communications for managing remote and mobile assets anytime, anywhere.”
Notably (for those curious), with a message size of up to 6.4Kbytes for transmission and up to 10Kbytes for reception, the CC200A-LB has ultra-low latency of about 20 seconds for a 100-byte message. The module will also be backwards compatible to ORBCOMM’s future OGx services, expected to launch later this year.