u-blox LTE-M module fully certified in Japan

u-blox (SIX:UBXN), a global provider of leading positioning and wireless communication technologies and services, announced the certification of its SARA-R5 series on all the Japan MNOs’ LTE-M networks. The modules are based on u‑blox’s own low-power wide-area (LPWA) chipset (UBX-R5) and are the first u-blox IoT products to achieve certification with all the Japanese operators.

The SARA-R5 series is 5G-ready and aimed at LPWA IoT applications, such as industrial automation, sensor applications, connected health, metering, asset and vehicle tracking, as well as telematics. By bringing all the technology building blocks in house and having full hardware and software ownership, u‑blox can guarantee long-term device availability and provide lifetime support of the entire platform, down to the chipset level.

“u-blox is an undisputed leader in LTE-M technology globally and we are pleased to see that SARA-R5 is now completely certified in Japan,” said Samuele Falcomer, Senior Product Line Manager, Product Center Cellular, u‑blox.  “The SARA-R5 series is unique for the level of security it brings with a root of trust embedded in a hardware-based secure element and a key management system (KMS) that is highly optimized for low bandwidth LPWA applications.”

The SARA-R5 series has three product variants. The SARA-R500S-61B offers standard LTE-M connectivity, while the SARA-R510M8S-61B includes an integrated u-blox M8 GNSS receiver and a separate GNSS antenna interface, providing highly reliable and accurate positioning data concurrent to LTE communication. This makes it ideal for mobile applications such as automotive, fleet management, and tracking and telematics. The SARA-R510S-61B, on the other hand, is specifically designed for ultra-low battery-powered applications like metering, smart city, connected health, security and surveillance, and remote monitoring.

The module is Microsoft Azure certified and AWS IoT Core qualified, while u-blox certificate lifecycle control facilitates zero touch provisioning to cloud platforms and simplifies the management of IoT certificate renewals.