Devices operated in the cellular network for the Internet of Things (IoT) have so far only used the LTE standard at most. With the “Qualcomm 315 5G IoT Modem-RF System”, companies from the commercial and industrial sector should soon be able to use 5G standalone with higher speed and lower latency.
For devices of the Internet of Things, different classes of network protocols are currently used to connect low-energy devices, which are summarized under Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN). Examples are LTE-M or NarrowBand-IoT (NB-IoT). Qualcomm has been offering suitable modems for these standards for a long time, which support the LTE standard at most.
The “315 5G IoT Modem-RF System”, which comprises a complete solution including a modem, RF front-end and antennas, is designed for the next generation of IoT devices that primarily connect via the new 5G standard and, in particular, 5G standalone (5G SA), which is processed via a 5G core network. Today's 5G non-standalone (5G NSA), as it is primarily used by smartphones and tablets, still uses an LTE core network and only uses 5G for the antenna network (radio), which is why we are talking about 5G NR (New Radio).
5G SA in public and private networks
The rollout of 5G SA has already taken place in China and the USA, among others, in Germany this is also the case at Vodafone, while Telefónica plans to follow suit this year. Deutsche Telekom is also planning with 5G SA, but has not yet given a specific date. Qualcomm sees the target group of operators of 5G-capable IoT devices not only in the public networks, but above all in private ones, which tend to rely on standalone.
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Overview of the areas of application (Image: Qualcomm)
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Overview of the areas of application < figure> 
Application example factory
Application example agriculture 
Application example stadium 
Application example retail trade LTE as fallback, no more 3G and 2G
The Qualcomm 315, manufactured in 7 nm, is therefore designed for this future of pure 5G standalone networks and only supports LTE as a fallback option. Older cellular standards such as 3G and 2G are no longer supported at all. In the 5G range, the 315 creates up to 1.54 Gbit/s over 100 MHz bandwidth in the sub-6 GHz spectrum and is therefore also suitable for areas of application such as high-resolution surveillance cameras.
The modem is intended to be used in areas such as factory automation, digital signage, agriculture, retail, and robotics. The modem is designed for low energy requirements, low operating temperatures and small form factors. This is also due to the fact that the low, mid and high band can be covered with just two antennas. With larger form factors, however, four antennas can also be used in the classic way.
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The 315 in detail (Image: Qualcomm)
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The 315 in detail 
The 315 is sorted above the LTE solutions 
Partner for the 315 Start in June with first partners
Qualcomm announces the availability of the “315 5G IoT Modem -RF System “in June of this year and names Fibocom, MeiG, Quectel and Telit as the first OEMs and ODMs who want to integrate the modem into their cellular modules for IoT devices. The new solution is pin-compatible with earlier LTE models from Qualcomm, so that a faster transition is possible with less development effort. The modem is to be used in IoT devices from Bosch, HMS, Schneider Electric and Siemens, among others.
ComputerBase has received information about this article from Qualcomm under NDA. The only requirement was the earliest possible publication time.