Nordic nRF91 Multimode LTE-M / NB-IoT SiP Embeds Arm Cortex-M33, Arm TrustZone, and Assisted GPS

Nordic Semi will soon launch nRF91 series low power cellular IoT solution, that consists of a system-in-package (SiP) combining a global multimode LTE-M / NB-IoT modem, an Arm Cortex-M33 core, Arm TrustZone security solution, assisted GPS, and flash memory into a 16x10x1.2 mm package.

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Nordic Semi nRF91 specifications known to far:

  • CPU – Arm Cortex-M33 ARMv8-M host processor
  • Memory / Storage – Built-in RAM and flash Memory
  • Connectivity
    • Multimode LTE-M (eMTC) and NB-IoT modem by Nordic
    • SAW-less transceiver
    • Custom RF front-end solution from Qorvo.
  • Location – Optional assisted GPS combining cellular and GPS technology for fast and accurate positioning
  • Security – Arm TrustZone security via Arm CryptoCell-310 security IP
  • Power Management
  • Package – 16 x 10 x 1.2 mm

Nordic Semiconductor nRF91 Series is said to include a complete suite of software and development tools for product development, but no details were provided at this stage.

The solution has already been demonstrated on the Verizon Wireless Network in the U.S. and on the Telia network in Norway, and nRF91 samples are being sent to select customers. However, we’ll have to wait a little longer before seeing products based on nRF91, as general samples are only planned for mid-2018, and mass production for the end of the year.

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arturo182
arturo182
6 years ago

Looks like Nordic didn’t publish the slides they used in their presentation, you can get screencaps in my Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/arturo182/status/955473262984785921 There’s more info about both the SiP and MCU, power consumption and timeline.

Jon Smirl
6 years ago

I would love to have a cost effective cellular solution. The existing solutions of $40 modules or chips that you need to spend $500,000 getting certified onto a cell network are not going anywhere except in a few, high-value use cases. The potential market for cellular IOT is huge, but it is also very price sensitive. And so far the cell ISPs haven’t done much to get costs down to a point where their solutions are attractive. Give me a $5 chip, a $1/mth data charge and no big bill for certification and I’ll put one in every device we… Read more »

Jon Smirl
6 years ago

Sequans already makes a $6 chip but it has the $500,000 certification problem. So people put the $6 chip onto a module and get it certified. Of course those modules end up costing $40 to recover the $500,000 spent on certification. In general the module is just the addition of 10 cents worth of passives, the real reason is to control the license to work under the $500K certification. There is a very expensive racket going on with hooking devices to cell networks. My worry is that the nRF91 is going to need the $500,000 worth of certification costs. In… Read more »

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