U-Blox extends module reach with 400MHz support

  • April 14, 2021
  • Steve Rogerson

Swiss firm U-Blox has extended its Sara-R5 LTE-M and NB-IoT communications family with a module that supports the 400 to 450MHz LTE spectrum in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

The Sara-R540S can communicate on LTE bands 31, 72, 73, 87 and 88. These lower-frequency bands have good propagation characteristics, helping users in the smart meter, public safety, smart grid and smart cities markets meet strict indoor and outdoor coverage requirements that might otherwise be difficult to reach over standard cellular connectivity.

The module is being introduced, in part, to service a growing trend to install dedicated communications infrastructure for IoT ecosystems ensuring high levels of availability and resilience. For example, the shift to smart energy grids will demand close coordination of distributed renewable power plants and millions of demand-management controllers installed at user premises. Therefore, it needs a robust communications infrastructure to enable it.

The module is based on the firm’s UBX-R5 cellular chipset and takes advantage of many of the features already engineered into the Sara-R5 family. This vertical ownership of the module’s hardware and software means U-Blox can guarantee long-term device availability and provide lifetime support for the entire platform for decades.

Other hardware features include a high RF power output to enhance the reach of the module in places, such as within buildings, where ensuring coverage can be difficult.

The module supports Power Class 3 transmission over standard LTE bands and Power Class 2, at an enhanced 26dBm maximum output, in the 450MHz spectrum. It also supports the 3GPP bands 87 and 88 in the 410MHz spectrum, as well as dynamic antenna tuning to help designers increase efficiency and coverage.

The module has been tuned for energy efficiency, which is important for remote and battery-powered products, such as water meters and gas meters. It draws less than 1µA of current in power-saving mode and has a last-gasp function to send a last message before it finally loses its power supply, for example, during a power outage or in case of a tampering event.

The necessary hardware and software are onboard to support U-Blox’s IoT security-as-a-service strategy. This makes it suitable for devices that transmit critical and confidential information in, for example, industrial or infrastructure applications such as metering.

A built-in hardware root of trust provides the foundation for secure authentication of the device in the field. It also implements a lightweight pre-shared key management system for low-power wide-area (LPWA) applications to guarantee security.

U-Blox has its headquarters in Thalwil, Switzerland, with offices in Europe, Asia and the USA.