Semtech has announced the integration of Sigfox ‘0G’ technology into its SX126x range of LoRa chipsets, enabling compatibility with LoRaWAN and other LoRa-based networks. This development emerges as part of the California-based company’s ongoing efforts, following their successful incorporation of Sigfox technology at the chip level in both the budget-friendly LCC68 transceiver and the advanced LR series (LR1110, LR1120, LR1121), which feature multi-constellation GNSS and passive Wi-Fi scanning capabilities.
This announcement marks a significant shift in the relationship between two leading French IoT companies in the non-cellular segment of the low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) market. Semtech, the proprietor of LoRa physical-radio technology and the licensor of the LoRaWAN network protocol, decided to merge Sigfox technology into its LoRa-based hardware and software solutions. This decision came closely after Unabiz, the parent company of Sigfox, joined the LoRa Alliance in July.
Unabiz, since acquiring Sigfox in early 2022, has been vigorously advocating for ‘convergence’ at the network level within the LPWAN sector. It has forged numerous partnerships across both cellular (NB-IoT and LTE-M) and non-cellular (LoRa, MIOTY, Wi-SUN) technologies. Sigfox has praised this recent development as a significant advancement in this direction.
Unabiz’s CEO, Henri Bong, remarked, “The integration of Sigfox and LoRaWAN is progressing further with the entire Semtech chipset portfolio now smoothly enabling Sigfox, thus unlocking potential for a wide range of use cases that require improved local or global IoT coverage.”
Semtech’s latest initiative involves releasing application notes for the SX126x series, which is the successor to the SX127x series, to facilitate the coalescence of Sigfox and LoRa/LoRaWAN technologies. Unabiz has stated, “This announcement is a stepping stone towards enhanced connectivity and interoperability, as well as the seamless integration of these two prominent technologies.”
The capability to support Sigfox has been present in the LCC68, LR1110, LR1120, and LR1121 chipsets for several months. Now, IoT device manufacturers, module producers, or solution providers using Semtech’s SX1261, SX1262, or SX1268 chipsets can incorporate both Sigfox and LoRa in a single product, allowing them to “cater to a broader clientele with one chipset, thereby optimising their investment.”
Unabiz elaborated, “The IoT ecosystem, which encompasses diverse applications such as metering, asset tracking, and logistics, stands to gain from enhanced and extensive network coverage and performance. This is vital for IoT devices distributed over large areas, by amalgamating these two pivotal LPWAN technologies.”
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