LTE Chipset Touts 10-Year Battery Life

Battery life is a critical problem across every technological vertical, but especially in mobile and remote industries like the IoT.

Altair Semiconductor, an LTE chipset maker, has announced a strategic initiative with Verizon Wireless to accelerate the development of new LTE-based, commercial IoT products, including the newly-released 12 PSM functionality which boasts LTE connectivity with a 10-year battery-life.

“Our collaboration with Verizon Wireless demonstrates to us that North America’s largest communication service provider sees the value of our LTE Cat-1/0 chipsets for IoT applications,” said Eran Eshed, Co-Founder and VP, Marketing and Business Development, Altair. “Altair is pioneering this new and emerging space for LTE and is focused on launching Cat-1/0 commercial products shortly.”

PSM, as specified by 3GPP Release 12, enables terminals to enter a deep-sleep mode for long periods of time after notifying the base station. This reduces the amount of power associated with devices having to wake up frequently to monitor incoming messages.

“The Internet of Things presents new opportunities for all of us in the industry. Verizon is committed to deliver solutions that meet the needs of our customers,” said Ro McNally, VP, Verizon Wireless. “Altair's low-cost, long battery life LTE Cat-1 solution is a great example of the innovation happening in this space.”

This is one of the many announcements coming out of CTIA in Las Vegas this week. Keep reading here for all the news from this event you need to know.