Avnet Abacus Extends Distribution Agreement with Panasonic to Include Wireless Technologies for Internet of Things Development – Avnet Abacus
Avnet Abacus, one of Europe’s leading interconnect, passive, electro-mechanical and power distributors and a regional business unit of Avnet (NYSE: AVT), today announced it is extending its distribution agreement with Panasonic to include highly competitive RF and wireless module based products and technologies.
Avnet Abacus is already an authorised distributor throughout Europe for Panasonic products, offering a broad range of its passive electronic components including capacitors, inductors, resistors, sensors and switches. This extension of the distribution agreement between the two companies enables Avnet Abacus customers to gain access to the full portfolio of RF modules from Panasonic, which covers all the latest communication protocols with ready-to-use modules for Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy and Wi-Fi.
Avnet Abacus Extends Distribution Agreement with Panasonic to Include Wireless Technologies for Internet of Things Development – Avnet Abacus
A major focus for Panasonic’s wireless connectivity solutions is to help companies shorten their development cycle and gain faster time-to-market. The time and software resources required for engineers to learn network communication protocol stacks and develop applications can be very expensive. However, the modules enable the building of wireless communications into designs – quickly and easily – without engineers requiring comprehensive know-how of wireless hardware and software design. Panasonic has also partnered with a number of leading software developers for all of the major RF network protocols, including Bluetooth, ISM and SNAP.
Furthermore, designing in a pre-tested and certified RF module, rather than implementing a discrete wireless solution, enables the reduction of test and certification requirements and the overall cost of ownership for product development. In addition, long-term design stability can also be achieved as the Panasonic portfolio of RF modules has maintained consistent pin-out and footprint across several generations with the introduction of newer and more advanced microcontrollers.
“Panasonic is a world-renowned leader in RF and wireless technologies and has substantial experience in delivering powerful, highly flexible and cost-effective module-based solutions for a wide variety of applications,” said Martin Keenan, technical manager at Avnet Abacus. “These modules are an ideal complement to our current offering for the IoT, including sensors, antennas, batteries and energy storage solutions, enabling us to deliver even more complete solutions for wireless applications and IoT project development.”
“This extended distribution deal with Avnet Abacus delivers an even better choice for engineers looking to add pre-tested, certified and fully supported wireless connectivity into their products,” commented Max Jakob, Panasonic’s distribution sales director EMEA, product marketing department. “Avnet Abacus has built up an enviable portfolio of products, technologies and solutions for wireless and IoT applications across a wide range of markets, including industrial, and we look forward to building upon our existing relationship to further expand our penetration into new markets”.
