Thales intends to use fellow French firm Sequans’ Monarch 2 and Calliope 2 platforms as a basis for its latest Cinterion IoT LTE-M, NB-IoT and Cat 1 modules.

Thales has been using Sequans’ first-generation massive IoT modem technology in its Cinterion IoT modules since 2015 and has shipped them worldwide. The availability of the second-generation massive IoT chips will now fuel a second phase of collaboration aimed at providing IoT modules to market.

Sequans’ Monarch 2 and Calliope 2 technologies deliver numerous features and improvements, including reduced power consumption, higher integration and a GSMA-compliant EAL5+ secure enclave for integrated SIM capability.

“Thales relies on Sequans’ Monarch and Calliope LPWAN modems to provide our Cinterion IoT modules with best-in-class connectivity capability,” said Andreas Haegele, vice president for IoT at Thales. “The new Sequans Monarch 2 LTE IoT modem is an exciting breakthrough, providing support for both Cat M1 and Cat NB2 IoT and offering extended coverage, improved power consumption and longer battery life. We are thrilled to extend our long-standing collaboration with Sequans, allowing us to grow our LPWA portfolio and continue to deliver innovative IoT connectivity that drives the IoT forward.”

Monarch 2 is a 5G ready chip platform, supporting 3GPP releases 14 and 15 and LTE UE categories M1, NB1 and NB2. In a single chip, Monarch 2 integrates baseband, RF, RAM, MC and power management. It supports all power classes, +23, 20 and 14dBm, allowing deployments by all operators around the world with efficient network capacity and data plans.

Monarch 2 supports a power supply starting at 2.2V. Also, it brings more than a 50 per cent improvement in power consumption in active and eDRX modes and it claims to lead the industry with 1µA at rock bottom.

A dedicated MCU is able to scale from ultra-low power mode to high-performance mode to best fit applications. A GSMA-compliant embedded secure enclave (SE) delivers EAL5+ government-grade security and iUICC (iSIM) functionality.

Calliope 2 is a 5G-ready chip platform, supporting the 3GPP release 15 massive IoT standard, delivering up to 10Mbit/s downlink and 5Mbit/s uplink. In a single chip, it integrates baseband, RF, RAM, MCU and power management.

In addition to cost and power improvements, Calliope 2 delivers the same features found in the Monarch 2 platform, including an EAL5+ secure enclave for ieUICC. Calliope 2 also integrates a VoLTE voice engine with HD-quality voice, providing support for emergency voice calling and streaming audio.

“Our partnership ensures that Thales IoT customers have the most advanced cellular IoT connectivity available today,” said Didier Dutronc, executive vice president at Sequans. “Cinterion IoT modules are top of the line and, along with Thales expertise in security, Thales IoT customers have exactly what they need to build IoT devices with the capabilities necessary to support massive IoT.”

Sequans Communications develops and provides 5G and 4G chips and modules for massive, broadband and critical IoT. Founded in 2003, Sequans is based in Paris, France, with offices in the USA, UK, Finland, Israel, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and China.