Sony Corporation has agreed to acquire Altair Semiconductor for US$212 million.
Altair, which is based in Israel, supplies modem chip technology and related software for LTE.
Sony said it aims to not only expand Altair’s existing business, but also to move forward with research on and development of new sensing technologies. By combining Sony’s sensing technologies – such as GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) and image sensors – with Altair’s high-performance, low power consumption and cost-competitive modem chip technology, and by further evolving both, Sony will strive to develop a new breed of cellular-connected, sensing component devices.
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201601/16-008E/
LTE IoT Chipset Targets 10 years of Battery Life
Ericsson, in partnership with AT&T and Altair Semiconductor, plan to demonstrate ultralow power consumption for IoT devices with a target battery operational life of ten years.
The demonstration of LTE Power Saving Mode on a commercial LTE Internet of Things (IoT) chipset is showcased at this week’s GSMA Mobile 360 Series – North America event in Atlanta, Georgia.
The IoT device Altair’s FourGee-1160 Cat 1 chipset featuring ultra-low power consumption. Power Saving Mode is an Ericsson Evolved Packet Core feature based on 3GPP (Release 12) for both GSM and LTE networks. The feature is able to dramatically extend IoT device battery life up to ten years or more for common use cases and traffic profiles.
Cameron Coursey, Vice President, Product Development, AT&T’s IoT Organization, says: “IoT connectivity is essential to helping businesses stay tethered to their assets around the world. Whether a trucking company hauls expensive cargo across the country or a restaurant transports fresh food overseas, a long battery life on their connected devices can help them provide continuous service. Businesses can save money and become more efficient with battery replacements every few years rather than very few months.
