Quectel BG770A-SN industrial IoT module offers 5G, NB-IoT, and NTN satellite connectivity

Quectel has recently released the BG770A-SN industrial IoT module which comes in an ultra-compact form factor and supports both NTN and TN and features GNSS for positioning functionality. This 5G-ready module also supports iSIM and utilizes the GEO satellite constellation for worldwide coverage. Additionally, the module offers integrated security elements (ISE) and can operate in between the industrial temperature range of -40°C to +85°C.

Previously we have written about the Quectel BG95-S5 5G NTN + LTE IoT module which supports NTN satellite (L-band and S-band) plus LTE Cat M1, Cat NB2, and eGPRS as fallback options, designed for applications where continuous connectivity is critical. We have also written about the Quectel CC660D-LS IoT-NTN module, which is an IoT NTN module designed specifically for Skylo’s satellite network. The new BG770A-SN module is a little different from the previous two because it supports LTE Cat M1, LTE Cat NB1/NB2, and NTN over NB-IoT. in simple terms, this new module is designed for low-power wide-area (LPWA) with satellite as a backup option.

Quectel BG770A-SN specifications:

• Supports 3GPP Rel-13/ 14/ 17/LTE Cat M1/NB2 with ultra-low power consumption
• Frequency Bands
  • LTE-FDD (* under development/ in progress)
  • Cat M1 – B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B8/B9*/B10*/B12/B13/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B27/B28/B66
  • Cat NB2 – B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B8/B9*/B10*/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B27*/B28/B66
• Data Transmission Speeds in kbps
  • Cat M1 – 600 kbps (DL) / 1000 kbps (UL)
  • Cat NB2 – 120 kbps (DL) / 140 kbps (UL)
  • Cat NB1 – 62.5 kbps (DL) / 27.2 kbps (UL)
• Interfaces
  • 1x (U)SIM
  • 3x UART
  • 1x USB 2.0 (FS only)
  • 1x PCM (for VoLTE only)
  • 1x I2C (for VoLTE only)
  • 2x ADC
  • 2x Antenna (LTE & GNSS antennas)
  • 7x GPIO
  • 2x GRFC
  • 1x NET_STATUS (for network status indication)
  • 1x STATUS (for power on/off indication)
• SMS
  • Point-to-point MO/MT
  • SMS Cell Broadcast
  • Text and PDU Mode
• Voice – Voice over LTE (for Cat M1) only
• Software Features
  • Protocols: TCP/ PPP/ UDP/ SSL/ MQTT/ FTP(S) / HTTP(S) / LWM2M/ IPv4/ IPv6/ TLS/ DTLS/ PING/ MQTT/ CoAP/ NITZ
  • Firmware Upgrade: UART/ DFOTA
• Certification (* under development/ in progress)
  • Regulatory
    • JATE*/ TELEC* (Japan)
    • KC* (South Korea)
    • FCC* (America)
    • CE* (Europe)
    • PTCRB* (North America)
    • GCF* (Global)
    • IC* (Canada)
    • SRRC*/ NAL*/ CCC* (China)
    • NCC* (Taiwan, China)
    • RCM* (Australia/New Zealand)
  • Carrier
    • Verizon*/ AT&T*/ Sprint*/ T-Mobile* (America)
    • Soft Bank*/ KDDI*/ NTT DOCOMO* (Japan)
    • Deutsche Telekom*/ Vodafone* (Europe)
  • Others – RoHS
• Electrical Characteristics
  • Supply voltage range – 2.2–4.35 V
  • Maximum output power – 23 dBm Power Class 3
  • Power consumption (The power consumption is presented only on the platform level)
    • PSM – 1.4 μA
    • Sleep mode
      • 82 μA @ DRX = 1.28 s / 2.56 s
      • 17 μA @ e-I-DRX = 81.92 s
    • Idle mode
      • 1.05 mA @ DRX = 1.28 s
      • 35 μA @ e-I-DRX = 81.92 s
    • Active mode – TBD
• Misc
  • DFOTA (Supported)
  • SoftSIM (Under development)
  • GPS/GLONASS
• Package – LGA
• Temperature Range
  • Operating Temperature – -35°C to +75°C
  • Extended Temperature – -40°C to +85°C
• Dimensions –14.9 × 12.9 × 1.9mm

The company mentions that it features ultra-low power consumption thanks to a MIPS 5150 processor and integrated RAM and flash, which help reduce current consumption to low levels in various modes, including PSM, e-I-DRX, etc. It is further integrated with a GNSS engine that supports GPS and GLONASS systems. These features along with standard interfaces and functionalities make this module suitable for applications, such as wireless POS, smart metering, tracking, wearable devices, and many more.

The BG770A-SN industrial IoT module can be purchased from DigiKey and Mouser. On DigiKey, the price is $48.50 for a single unit, while on Mouser, you must order a full reel in multiples of 500 units, costing around $14,375 for 500 units. More information about the product is available on the product page and press release.

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