Sercomm, a Taiwanese provider of embedded connectivity and integrated networking, has launched a multi-band, dual mode LTE-M and NB-IoT module based on a Nordic Semiconductor reference design.

The TPM530M module uses the nRF9151 (www.nordicsemi.com/Products/nRF9151) reference design with Nordic’s nRF9120 SoC and related power management and RF front-end components.

The cellular IoT module comes in a 14.55 by 14.51 by 1.85mm package. Pre-certified, it is designed for space-constrained cellular IoT applications including smart metering, bike sharing, wearables, smart city, security, asset tracking and environmental monitoring. 

It provides developers with an open 64MHz Arm Cortex-M33 application domain with 1Mbyte NVM and 256kbyte RAM and peripherals including multiple SPI, uart, I²C, PWM and ADC interfaces, and 32 GPIOs. It features GPS and an extended 3GPP compliant temperature operating range of -40 to +85˚C.

The module supports PSM and eDRX power saving modes. For LTE-M and NB-IoT, the PSM floor current with full memory retention is as low as 2.7µA, and with an eDRX interval of 655s the average current is 6µA for LTE-M and 9µA for NB-IoT. This low power consumption ensures the module is suitable for applications that demand extended battery lifetime between recharge or replacement.

“The TPM530M is a feature-rich and cost-competitive cellular IoT module ideal for battery-powered applications,” said Ben Lin, president of Sercomm (www.sercomm.com). “Nordic has a proven track record in ultra-low power consumption, and access to Nordic’s nRF9120 SoC with power management and RF front-end components, provides the best performance and cost for Sercomm in a very compact size.”

Combined with Nordic’s nRF Connect SDK (www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Development-software/nRF-Connect-SDK), which provides developers with a software tool for developing LTE-M and NB-IoT products, the TPM530M should enable future cellular IoT products.

The nRF9120 is Nordic’s cellular system-on-chip (SoC), featured in nRF91 series modules such as the nRF9151 SiP.

“This mature and power-efficient SoC offers a leading feature set and is available to selected high-volume partners, including Sercomm,” said Kristian Sæther, product director at Nordic Semiconductor (www.nordicsemi.com).