Quectel Wireless Solutions has been selected by IM Tecnologia Aplicada to provide its BG95 multi-mode low-power wide area (LPWA) modules that support LTE Cat M1, Cat NB2 and EGRPS with integrated GNSS. The company, headquartered in Mexico, focuses on the design of electronic products starting with the initial idea from the client. It takes customers through the stages of design, prototyping, harnesses, machining, and everything necessary to create a 100% functional finished product.

For this project, which is focused on gas and ultrasonic water meters in Mexico, the company want to enable consumers to monitor consumption levels in real-time and receive alarms if anything unusual is identified. Consumers benefit from this improved visibility and utility providers achieve reduced costs and service times in addition to more simple and easier consumption readings.

With meters often located in hard-to-reach places and deployed for lifecycles of more than a decade, IM Tecnologia Aplicada was looking for a low power module that provided extensive flexibility in terms of network technology and for future upgrades. The Quectel BG95 offers maximum data rates of 588 kbps downlink and 1119 kbps uplink using LTE Cat M1. It features ultra-low power consumption thanks to the integrated RAM/flash as well as the ARM Cortex A7 processor supporting ThreadX, which can achieve an up to 70% reduction in power saving mode (PSM) leakage and an 85% reduction in extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) current consumption compared to its predecessor. With a cost-effective SMT form factor of 23.6 mm × 19.9 mm × 2.2 mm, the BG95 enables integrators and developers to easily design their applications and take advantage of the module’s low power consumption.

“We were looking for a communication module with low energy consumption which had the ability to be mounted on communication networks with existing infrastructures and with as much national coverage as possible, which was very complicated with other brands such as Sigfox and LoRa,” said Jesus Carrillo, General Manager and R&D Director at IM Tecnologia Aplicada. “We chose Quectel because of the technical support it offers plus the portability of products between versions and the competitive cost of modules. In addition, the compact size makes it easy to fit into designs.”

Carrillo added that further reasons behind IM Tecnologia Aplicada’s selection of Quectel were its offer of training, design review and antennas. Having seen the module widely used in deployments by other companies, Carrillo was confident that choosing the BG95 would be a good fit for this new low power consumption meter.

“We’re delighted that IM Tecnologia Aplicada has selected our BG95 LPWA IoT module for deployment in its new gas and ultrasonic water meters,” said Ricardo Simon, Sales Director LatAm, Quectel Wireless Solutions. “The low power characteristics and coverage enablement of the BG95 will enable smart meters to be connected, aiding operational efficiencies for utility companies, and providing consumers with more information on their consumption. We’re proud to collaborate with IM Tecnologia Aplicada to help its customers to build a smarter world.”