Dec.2024 25
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New pre-certified Wi-Fi 6/BLE modules

Introduction
New pre-certified Wi-Fi 6/BLE modules simplify development & speed up IoT device time-to-market, says Silicon Labs
Details


Hot on the heels of releasing their new SiWx917 chipset for ultra low-power wireless IoT – read about it here  Silicon Labs this month introduced a new family of  SiWx917-powered modules, designed to substantially speed up the IoT device development process. Silicon Labs has done everything to make the process as simple, fast, and low-cost as possible while still offering a plenty of configuration options, the company says.

Certifying wireless IoT devices for operation in various parts of the world (or even just for a single market) can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars – not to mention result in product launch delays, which could make or break the prospective success of new products on the ultra-competitive IoT market. But now there’s much less need to worry about any of that, says Silicon Labs. New Wi-Fi & BLE connected devices can now piggy-back off the extensive certification and design work already done by Silicon Labs.

Above: Irvind Ghai, VP at Silicon Labs, speaking at Wi-Fi World Congress Europe in Geneva, Switzerland, in September 2024.

“Wireless IoT solution providers can now choose as the basis for their products our RF optimized modules enabling industry-leading Wi-Fi connectivity. This allows R&D teams to focus on what sets their IoT application apart – hence avoiding commoditisation in the market place. We believe our SiWx917Y modules will be instrumental in supporting solution providers to build the world’s most innovative and successful Wi-Fi IoT products and services,” says Irvind Ghai, Vice President at Silicon Labs.

The modules – view all the details here – are pre-certified for FCC (North America), CE (Europe), MIC (Japan), and several other regional standards. They’re also Wi-Fi 6 certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Irvind Ghai says the new SiWx917Y modules deliver “breakthrough power efficiency while providing robust wireless connectivity, advanced security, and a full-featured application processor, reducing design challenges, product size, costs, and time-to-revenue for device makers.”

The 16 x 21 x 2.3 mm SiWx917Y Module is pre-certified with global Wi-Fi standards to help designers get to market faster. Credit: Silicon Labs

The new SiWx917Y wireless computing module comes in a tiny integrated and shielded 16 x 21 x 2.3 mm package. Developers can select from a range of PSRAM and flash memory configuration options as well as from three operational modes: Hostless system-on-chip (SoC), network co-processor (NCP), and radio co-processor (RCP). The module includes an integrated antenna although it also readily supports external antenna designs, Silicon Labs says.

Silicon Labs is among the world’s leading vendors of state-of-the-art Wi-Fi chipsets and modules specifically designed for ultra low-power wireless IoT. The company expects the market for low-power Wi-Fi IoT devices to increase by up to one billion units annually, equivalent to about half of total yearly IoT growth. Market segments for Wi-Fi IoT include smart homes, smart cameras, consumer health, smart buildings, a huge number of industrial use cases, asset tracking, and more.

The Wi-Fi IoT market (in particular for ultra-low power battery operated devices) is currently by far the fastest growing of all Wi-Fi device segments and therefore represents a significant financial upside to specialised Wi-Fi IoT silicon chip providers, such as Silicon Labs. The new SiWx917Y modules are available for purchase now.