Semtech has just launched the AirLink RX400 and EX400 5G RedCap routers for industrial and commercial IoT applications. They offer a lower power consumption and lower costs compared to traditional 5G deployment. The routers are powered by an unnamed Arm Cortex-A55 processor, feature up to two Gigabit Ethernet ports, 5G RedCap cellular connectivity (3GPP Release 17 and 5G Standalone) with LTE Cat 4 fallback, dual-band GNSS, optional WiFi 6 connectivity, and optional RS-232 interfaces, among other features. AirLink RX400/RX400 specifications: SoC – Unnamed dual-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor System Memory – 600 MB RAM available to containers Storage – 500 MB flash available to containers Networking AirLink EX400 – 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports AirLink RX400 – Gigabit Ethernet port 5G RedCap (Reduced Capability) cellular connectivity up to 226 Mbps downlink, 120 Mbps uplink, dual SIM (Nano-4FF); 4G LTE fallback Optional dual-band Wi-Fi 6 1×1 MIMO up to 600 Mbps Serial (AirLink RX400 […]
HalowLink 2 Wi-Fi HaLow access point and extender offers up to 1 km range, supports up to 1,000 IoT end devices
Designed in collaboration with Morse Micro, GL.iNet’s HalowLink 2 is a Wi-Fi HaLow (802.11ah) access point and extender that offers up to 1 km range and supports up to 1,000 IoT end devices. It’s an update to the earlier HaLowLink 1 Wi-Fi HaLow gateway with the exact same functionality, except it replaces a Morse Micro MM6108-based module with an MM8108-based module that offers a higher max link rate (43.3 Mbps vs 32.5 Mbps), broader region support, higher device capacity, and potentially better /performance range with up to 26 dBm Tx power (vs 23dBm in the first generation model). HalowLink 2 specifications: SoC – Mediatek MT7621 dual-core, quad-thread MIPS1004K processor @ up to 880MHz System Memory – 256MB DDR3 Storage – 32MB NAND Flash Connectivity Wi-Fi HaLow (802.11ah) AzureWave AW-HM677 module with Morse Micro MM8108 HaLow chipset supporting Wi-Fi HaLow, IEEE 802.11ah, Sub-GHz, 43.3 Mbps, ultra-low power, WPA3 Sub-GHz frequency range […]
Broadcom updates its Wi-Fi 8 access point chips portfolio with BCM4918 APU, BCM6714 and BCM6719 dual-band radios
Broadcom has just announced the launch of its next-generation chips for Wi-Fi 8 access points at CES 2026 with the BCM4918 Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), and two new dual-band Wi-Fi 8 radios: BCM6714 and BCM6719. The last two build upon the Broadcom BCM6718 WiFi 8 tri-band SoC with different antenna configurations, namely 4×4 2.4GHz and 4×4 5 GHz for the BCM6719, and 3×3 2.4GHz and 4×4 5 GHz for the BCM6714, and integrated 2.4 GHz PAs. The AP4918 builds upon the AP4916, but I was unable to obtain information about the improvements from a company representing Broadcom. Broadcom BCM4918 Wi-Fi 8 APU BCM4918 key features: High-performance Quad-core Armv8 CPU complex for general-purpose software workloads Integrated Broadcom Neural Engine (BNE) for on-device AI/ML inference and acceleration Advanced networking engines to offload both wired and wireless data paths, enabling complete CPU bypass of all networking traffic Integrated cryptographic protocol acceleration end-to-end data […]
Add four Gigabit or 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports to the Raspberry Pi 5 with this expansion board
Waveshare PCIE TO 4-CH Gigabit/2.5G ETH Board (B) is a 4-port Gigabit or 2.5 Gbps Ethernet board designed for the Raspberry Pi 5. This board connects four RJ45 ports to the Pi’s 16-pin PCIe interface and also includes a mounting option for the Pi5 Connector Adapter (C). The only limiting factor is the Pi’s PCIe Gen2/Gen3 x1 interface, as the 2.5GbE ports share the available bandwidth and cannot operate at full speed simultaneously. The Gigabit Ethernet variant features Realtek RTL8153 USB to Ethernet controllers, while the 2.5GbE variant relies on RTL8156 controllers, and both integrate a VL805 PCIe to USB bridge chip. The board also includes status LEDs for link and activity indication, and draws power directly from the PCIe interface without requiring an external power supply. The device is plug-and-play and supports Raspberry Pi OS out of the box with no additional drivers required. Applications include routers, firewalls, network […]
Turris Omnia NG Wi-Fi 7 router features dual 10GbE SFP+, mini PCIe slot for 4G LTE/5G, runs OpenWrt-based Turris OS
The Turris Omnia NG is a high-performance Wi-Fi 7 router with a mini PCIe slot for 4G/5G modems, two 10GbE SFP+ cages, a 240×240 px color display, and a D-Pad button, running OpenWrt-based Turris OS, and designed for advanced home users, small businesses, and lab environments. Built around a 2.2 GHz Qualcomm IPQ9574 quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A73 CPU, the Omnia NG supports Wi-Fi 7/6 tri-band connectivity. Additionally, it features four 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports, two USB 3.0 ports, NVMe storage support, and includes a 90 W power supply for attached peripherals. Other hardware highlights include rack-mount supports, a metal chassis, and antenna arrays for 4×4 MIMO operation. It comes 10 years after the original Turris Omnia open-source router was launched on Indiegogo. Turris Omnia NG Router specifications: CPU – Qualcomm IPQ9574 quad-core Arm Cortex-A73 processor @ 2.2GHz processor Memory – 2 GB RAM Storage 8 GB eMMC storage M.2 socket for […]
Giveaway Week 2025 winners announced!
CNX Software’s Giveaway Week 2025 has just ended and we’ve now ready to announce the winners. We offered some of the review samples we tested, and three companies joined us offering new samples, namely Banana Pi with two router boards, VOIPAC with an industrial development kit, and RAKwireless offered two of their IoT development kits for the fifth year running. Besides the aforementioned prize, we also included an ESP32-P4 development kit, a dry switch from SONOFF, a Raspberry Pi CM4-based HMI with a 915MHz LoRa module, a 5-inch Raspberry Pi Touch Display, and two USB PD voltage indicators on both CNX Software “International” and CNX Software Thailand. You can see all prizes shown below. Without further ado, here are the seven winners of Giveaway Week 2025 on CNX Software (English): M5Stack M5Tab – Ed Elecrow Pi Terminal – Tom Banana Pi BPI-R4 Lite router board – Stef 5-inch Raspberry Pi […]
Nexalta Guardian NXG0042AI – Qualcomm IPQ9574-based networking solution with 10GbE, WiFi 7, 5G, local AI (Crowdfunding)
Nexalta Guardian NXG0042AI is a large networking and IoT gateway “monster” powered by a Qualcomm IPQ9574 chipset offering 10GbE and 2.5GbE networking, WiFi 7 support with up to five concurrent WiFi radios, up to four/seven 5G modems, up to 52 (e)SIMs, and two on-board Compute Module slots for Rockchip RK3588 or NVIDIA Jetson SO-DIMM system-on-modules. The main board (XWR A1) also offers 25Gbps WAN fabric, three MCUs for BMC, power management, and cryptography, M.2 slots for NVMe storage or AI accelerators, two mSATA sockets, HDMI video output, USB ports, Starlink satellite support, and a range of IoT protocol options such as LoRaWAN, 5G RedCap, UWB, Bluetooth LE, and so on. Nexalta Guardian specifications: Main SoC subsystem SoC – Qualcomm IPQ9574 quad-core Arm Cortex-A73 processor @ 2.2GHz processor System Memory – 2GB DDR4 RAM Storage – 8GB eMMC flash, 64MB NOR flash SoM sub-system 2x 260-pin SO-DIMM sockets for: Turing RK1 […]
Giveaway Week 2025 – Banana Pi BPI-R4 Lite
The third prize of CNX Software Giveaway Week 2025 is the Banana Pi BPI-R4 Lite router board, which will be shipped directly to a randomly selected winner by the company. It’s powered by a MediaTek Filogic 850 (MT7987AV) quad-core Cortex-A53 network processor, coupled with 2GB DDR4 and 8GB eMMC flash, and equipped with four gigabit Ethernet ports, a 2.5GbE RJ45 WAN port, and a 2.5GbE SFP cage. It can also be extended with WiFi 7 and 5G cellular modules thanks to two mini PCIe sockets and an M.2 Key-B slot with USB 3.0 interface. The board also features a 16-pin MikroBus GPIO header with UART, I2C, SPI, PWM, and other signals to connect one of the over 1000 Mikroe Click modules available. As its name implies, the BPI-R4 Lite is a cost-down version of the Banana Pi BPI-R4 introduced a few years ago. The documentation has improved since the last […]

