Fibocom, in collaboration with MediaTek, announced the launch of a 5G redcap module during last week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The FM330 module uses MediaTek’s T300 modem and is positioned to expand the 5G landscape to a broader range, covering consumer-level, enterprise-level and industrial-level scenarios.

The T300 5G modem is a 6nm RF system-on-chip (SoC) single die product for 5G redcap. By integrating a single-core Arm Cortex-A3 processor in a compact PCB area, the FM330 offers extended coverage, increased network efficiency and device battery life for industrial users.

Compliant with 3GPP R17 standards, the FM330 supports mainstream 5G frequency bands worldwide and can reach a maximum bandwidth of 20MHz, thus ensuring the peak data rate of up to 227Mbit/s downlink and 122Mbit/s uplink, sufficient to meet the demand for 5G applications with less data throughput while balancing power efficiency.

In hardware design, it adopts the M.2 form factor measured at 30 by 42mm benefiting from the RF SoC integrated with T300, in addition to the optimised antenna design in 1T2R, which saves PCB area. Moreover, the series is pin-compatible with Fibocom’s FM101 LTE Cat 6 module, easing the concerns for those migrating from 4G to 5G. The module provides 64QAM or 256QAM (optional) modulation.

5G dongles are gaining popularity in providing portable high-speed, reliable and on-device connectivity anywhere, anytime, broadening the landscape of 5G FWA to more use cases.

The FM330 supports mainstream operating systems Windows, Linux and Android to match the diversity of terminals. Equipped with a standard USB peripheral interface, it is easy to access the internet with plug and play, and can be applied to terminal devices such as PCs, tablets, drones and industrial routers. Fibocom will leverage the one-stop 5G dongle to help users adapt to the fast-growing marketplace and realise 5G monetisation with less time to market.

“As a key part of the newly announced T300 5G modem, redcap is a means for us to democratise access to 5G features, making it easier for customers to deliver a wide range of 5G-enabled IoT devices,” said Evan Su, general manager at MediaTek (www.mediatek.com). “We’ve been working closely with Fibocom as a partner to ensure faster, more reliable 5G products around the world and power the next generation of connectivity.”

Simon Tao, vice president at Fibocom, added: “We are honoured to introduce the FM330 series with MediaTek at the world-class stage during MWC 2024. The T300 is an advanced chipset platform that is equipped with multiple cutting-edge designs and will be 100% integrated into Fibocom’s FM330 series modules. The exclusive and robust partnership we shared with MediaTek will reflect on the evolution of 5G towards next stage and beyond, and we have the confidence to expand the 5G adoption to a large-scale ecosystem with scalable, customised wireless.”

Fibocom (www.fibocom.com) provides wireless communication modules and is listed on the China A-shares stock market.