Renesas expands focus in India with new NB-IoT solution

Renesas Electronics Corporation, a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, has introduced an NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) chipset specifically for the Indian market.

The new RH1NS200 is an LTE NB-IoT modem chipset that’s designed to operate seamlessly on the networks of all major Indian telecommunications carriers. It’s an ideal solution to serve the Indian smart metering market — which some estimates put at roughly 250 million units over the next five years.

Customers can use it to build complete NB-IoT modules to satisfy “Make in India” requirements.

The new chipset also can be used in asset tracking, lighting, security, and several other applications. The RH1NS200 chipset offers extremely low power consumption of only 1uA in deep sleep mode, significantly extending battery life. It also provides an integrated EAL5+ (Evaluation Assurance Level) Secure Element (SE) that provides zero compromise on security to ensure the safety of end applications (particularly power and water metering systems).

“Renesas recognizes India’s enormous potential in terms of both market size and design talent, and we are committed to taking part in future growth driven by the Digital India Act,” said Sailesh Chittipeddi, executive VP and GM, IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit, Renesas. “This leading-edge NB-IoT solution is a prime example of tailoring our design and manufacturing strengths to meet the unique needs of this market.”

The RH1NS200 is part of Renesas’ next-generation family of NB-IoT solutions. Increased Focus on the Indian Market Renesas has recently increased focus on the Indian market with several new initiatives. In March of 2022, Renesas established its Next Generation EV Innovation Center (NEVIC) with Tata Elxsi, a global provider of design and technology services.

In June 2022 Renesas announced a strategic partnership with Tata Motors Ltd. (TML) and Tejas Networks Ltd. (Tejas), both Tata Group companies, on the design, development and manufacturing of Renesas’ semiconductor solutions for enhancing innovation across electronics systems for the Indian and emerging markets. Then, in March of this year, Renesas and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced the opening of a joint Innovation Center in Bengaluru and Hyderabad to collaborate on radio frequency, digital and mixed-signal design, and software development for innovative next generation semiconductor solutions.

Renesas is currently working with Tata Elxsi to implement NB-IoT-based solutions that operate on the networks of major telecom carriers in India.

“Our collaboration and trials in live 4G and 5G networks in India ensure that our offerings are not only technologically advanced but also market ready,” said Manoj Raghavan, CEO and managing director of Tata Elxsi. “Our expert technology team, as well as our extensive integration, customization, and productization services are fully aligned with Renesas to provide customers with the support they need to easily adopt and scale NB-IoT applications, helping drive the next generation of intelligent infrastructure and services.”

Features

Targets bands 1,3, 5, and 8 for India
Low PSM of 1µA in deep sleep with longer eDRX cycles
Support for transmit power (Tx) of up to 23dBm for all bands reduces transmission retries
Field proven and carrier-approved LTE protocol stack and software suite
Wide operating supply voltage range of 2.2V to 5.5V Renesas is offering the RH1NB200-EVK, a full development kit with integrated multi-band antenna and access to all module I/O ports

In addition, a software development kit (SDK) is available that can control the LTE modem, platform I/Os, and customize AT commands.