German firm Würth Elektronik has introduced a low-power, multi-band LTE-M and NB-IoT module for industrial IoT, smart agriculture, smart logistics and smart metering applications.

The Adrastea-I cellular module measures 13.4 by 14.6 by 1.85mm, comes with integrated GNSS, integrated Arm Cortex M4 and 1Mbyte flash reserved for user application development. The module is based on the Sony Altair ALT1250 chipset.

Certified by Deutsche Telekom, the module enables a quick integration to end-products without additional labels, industry-specific certifications (GCF) and operator approvals needed, whenever Deutsche Telekom IoT connectivity (SIM card) is used.

The module has multi-band support and can be operated through one of two – LTE-M and NB-IoT – cellular communication technologies. This enables the support for international, multi-regional coverage. For example, wherever LTE-M does not have coverage, the Adrastea-I can be configured to use NB-IoT instead, and vice versa. It is 3GPP release-13 compliant, upgradable to release 14. Its small dimensions make it suitable for size-constrained applications such as wearables.

Integrated GNSS supports GPS and Glonass satellite systems, making it suitable for asset tracking applications where infrequent position updates are required.

The integrated Arm Context M4 MCU, 1Mbyte flash, and 256kbyte RAM are available exclusively for customer application development. Sony Altair provides a software development kit (SDK), sample code examples, documentation and tools to accelerate innovation and product development on the integrated Cortex M4 MCU.

Deutsche Telekom has certified the module for multiple European LTE-M and NB-IoT networks. Würth maintains a partnership with Deutsche Telekom IoT for connectivity. The certification confirms that end-products using the module will interoperate properly on Deutsche Telekom’s various networks.

“With the introduction of the Adrastea-I radio module and IoT SIM cards from Deutsche Telekom, we are excited to offer a complete cellular solution,” said Ravindra Singh, product manager at Würth Elektronik. “The integrated MCU, exclusively for customer application development, enables engineers to design exceptional products and services using LTE-M and NB-IoT cellular technology. The pre-certified Adrastea-I module from Deutsche Telekom enables a quick integration to end-product, saving development costs and shortening time to market. Despite the worldwide shortage of components, Adrastea-I and its evaluation kit are available in stock.”

Uday Patil, head of IoT devices at T-Systems, added: “We are pleased to certify the Adrastea-I module from Würth Elektronik for our multiple NB-IoT and LTE-M networks. By completing our certification processes, we ensure a best-in-class connectivity and excellent performance for our customers. The Adrastea-I is a strong addition to our portfolio of operator-certified IoT cellular modules, one the largest worldwide.”

Würth makes electronic and electromechanical components for the electronics industry. The range includes EMC components, inductors, transformers, RF components, varistors, capacitors, resistors, quartz crystals, oscillators, power modules, wireless power transfer, LEDs, sensors, connectors, power supply elements, switches, push-buttons, connection technology, fuse holders and wireless data transmission. It is part of the Würth group, and employs 8000 staff and generated sales of €1.09bn in 2021.