Microchip announces the first fully integrated, FCC-certified RF transceiver and IoT (Internet of Things) solution development kits for use on the Sigfox network. Based on Microchip's highly integrated ATA8520E – a low-power RF transceiver with an embedded AVR® microcontroller – the new kits contain the first FCC-certified card that allows developers to easily connect to the IoT network. global and bi-directional long-range Sigfox, resulting in a low-cost, low-power connectivity solution between the device and the cloud. This solution is ideal for IoT applications ranging from logistics to agriculture, smart cities and other M2M (machine-to-machine) sectors. The ATA8520E is also the first chip to be fully certified by Sigfox suitable for North America and Europe.
The solution is supplied in two versions. Customers can purchase Microchip's Sigfox certified ATA8520-EK as a stand-alone kit, designed primarily for technology testing, or as a combo kit with an Xplained PRO card for system design. Both are intended for the Sigfox IoT network in the unlicensed ISM bands. Solutions come complete with the Sigfox library, modulation, ID and PAC codes, and a security key that enables IoT developers to speed time-to-market for their design. Currently operating in 24 countries and with more than 8 million registered devices on the network, Sigfox aims to establish an efficient global network that provides easy, ubiquitous and low-power connectivity to the billions of devices that regularly will send small amounts of data over long distances www.microchip.com. Sigfox and Microchip are working together to reduce IoT device costs, operating costs and power consumption, which will substantially extend battery life over traditional cellular, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi® connectivity. The ATA8520x family offers the industry's highest performance and lowest power consumption for a sub-1GHz SoC (System-on-Chip) transceiver designed to maximize range and battery life for power-sensitive wireless systems.
With frequency coverage of 8520 MHz in Europe and 868 MHz in North America, the ATA902x transceivers offer the highest RF performance on the market, extending your wireless range and meeting the most stringent regulatory standards in the market for narrowband . ATA8520x transceivers provide exceptionally efficient power consumption resulting in fewer battery changes and/or reduced battery size. There are currently four types of development kits available for the US and European networks. For more information, visit the Microchip website at www.atmel.com/products/wireless/sigfox. The kits are also available through the Sigfox partner network.
