Quectel has announced the SG520B series of 5G sub-6GHz, Wifi 6E and Bluetooth smart modules.

They have been developed to meet growing needs for smart modules that can support not only connectivity but also various functions, such as edge computing, graphics processing, multimedia and operation of peripherals such as displays, cameras and touch panels.

The modules have a built-in up-to-date Android operating system and are based on the Qualcomm QCM4490 64bit octa-core processor.

Offering comprehensive cellular connectivity options including worldwide 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G coverage, with LTE Cat 15 and both 5G release 16 standalone (SA) and 5G non-standalone (NSA), the modules offer 5G and LTE multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technology. This lets them address growing market demands for high data rate and link reliability for wireless communications.

The use in MIMO of multiple antennas at the receiver end at the same time and on the same frequency band reduces errors and optimises data speed.

“The Quectel SG520B series of 5G sub-6GHz smart powerful, versatile modules are ideal for enabling rich device functionality alongside unparalleled connection performance across multiple cellular, wifi and Bluetooth options,” said Norbert Muhrer, president and CSO of Quectel Wireless. “We see huge potential for the SG520B series to support use cases in the industrial, enterprise and consumer markets that demand rich media functionality backed by high performance processing and connectivity.”

Further connectivity choices include 2×2 MIMO Wifi 6E, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, and wifi dual band simultaneous (DBS), with peak data rate up to 3.6Gbit/s. In addition, the smart modules offer Bluetooth 5.2 and the option of a multi-constellation GNSS receiver for applications that require fast and accurate fixes in any environment.

Designed for industrial and consumer applications that require high data rates and support for multimedia functions, typical use cases include smart gateways, customer premise equipment (CPE), Mifi devices, point of sale (PoS) terminals, cash registers, dashcams, digital signage and industrial PDAs.

Available in a 42.5 by 56.5 by 2.95mm LGA package, they have an operating temperature of -35 to +75˚C. The modules will support NSA and SA with maximum 5G downlink speeds up to 2.5Gbit/s and uplink speeds up to 900Mbit/s. For 5G NSA deployments, the modules will support 2.5Gbit/s downlink and 550Mbit/s uplink, again depending on which regional variant is selected. They also support 1080p H.265 and H.264 video encoding and decoding.

For more information, see www.quectel.com.