SoC is available now for smart cities and long-range deployments

The Silicon Labs FG25 was launched during the Works With 2022 Developer Conference, and the new flagship sub-GHz SoC is now available.

The device is an ideal SoC for long-range, low-power transmissions, able to broadcast up to 3km with minimal data loss in dense, urban canyon environments when connected with the company's EFF01 Front End Module. It is also the first SoC in its portfolio to support the orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing modulations introduced in Wi-SUN Field Area Network (FAN) 1.1. OFDM supports high data bandwidth of up to 3.6Mbps. With the higher data rates, the SoC allows the large networks required by smart cities where the nodes can number in the thousands.

The company has also stated that it has been certified by the Wi-SUN Alliance for the PHY layer of the FAN 1.1 profile. Customers can use this certification to reduce the burden placed on them as they develop Wi-SUN FAN 1.1 compliant devices.

Until now, Landis+Gyr had used the FG12 SoC running its own proprietary stack. Still, as Wi-SUN is an open network, it provides increased interoperability and simplified development, meaning it can scale to match the huge size of a city. And while the device assisted Landis+Gyr in massively lowering the power consumption of its devices, it did not have the RAM required for Wi-SUN and OFDM.

By moving to the FG25 Wi-SUN SoC, the company not only improves the performance of its solution but also gives customers a smooth Wi-SUN transition as the device runs its proprietary stack. With the MCU and transceiver on the same chip, the device utilises the same form factor as Landis+Gyr's existing module, simplifying the development and design process to integrate the new SoC.