STMicroelectronics receives Vodafone NB-IoT certification for location-aware cellular IoT modules

Domenico Arrigo, the General Manager of STMicroelectronics' Industrial and Power Conversion Division, emphasized the significance of this achievement: "Our collaboration with Vodafone in completing the testing program ensures our customers a reliable and future-proof data connection for their IoT solutions, capitalizing on the innovative and power-efficient attributes of this module. Furthermore, its complete development and production under ST's purview guarantees top-notch product quality, security, and enduring availability."

Sven Sobe, Senior Expert IoT Innovation & Certification at Vodafone, added, “ST’s ST87M01 module has demonstrated flawless connectivity with our NB-IoT global infrastructure and offers an excellent option to connect to our network anywhere in Europe.”

The ST87M01 has also been recently certified by the Global Certification Forum that promotes interoperability of mobile and IoT products. The module complies with 3GPP Release 15 and provides extended multi-regional LTE coverage.

Bringing together reliable geolocation capability with long-term assured cellular connectivity, the ST87M01 module addresses emerging massive IoT applications such as smart traffic-emergency lights, to become mandatory in Spain by 2026. The new lights supersede the passive emergency triangle, by providing real-time car geolocation to the local traffic-control system in the event of accident, consistent with the European road safety charter. The ST87M01 is the most integrated module in the market, embedding all the functions needed to support this application and paving the way towards safer and interconnected mobility.

NB-IoT certifications for the ST87M01 also come at the right time for design-in to new electric, water and gas smart-metering roll-outs planned worldwide. In particular, the module represents a very effective solution for deployment in the new Indian smart metering infrastructure, which is estimated to reach 250 million units in the next five years.

The module integrates a state-of-the-art ST4SIM embedded SIM (eSIM), certified according to the latest industry standards, such as the latest GSMA eSA (Security Assurance) certification. The ST4SIM also includes a certified embedded secure element (eSE). The complete circuitry is contained within an ultra-small 10.6mm x 12.8mm LGA package.

Low energy consumption features maximise the runtime of battery-powered applications. The integrated native GNSS receiver ensures optimised power-savings features while operating during NB-IoT sleep time slots.

The ST87M01 integrates easily with other components from ST’s portfolio such as MEMS intelligent actuators and sensors, interfaces, and other connectivity to address many more IoT applications that need precise geolocation. These include tracking devices for pets and personal possessions, industrial asset tracking, and sensors for use throughout smart infrastructure, smart agriculture, and others.