Taoglas has launched three NB-IoT antennas, including the smallest ceramic NB-IoT antenna (NCP.5820) that covers Bands 5, 8 and 20 simultaneously with a single matching configuration, and an ultra-thin, flexible multiband antenna (FXUB64) that supports all LTE bands - including the new Band 71 that will be used for NB-IoT in the U.S.
The antennas are specifically designed to provide device manufacturers cost-effective global reach and high efficiency in a small form factor as they develop NB-IoT solutions. Taoglas showcased the Extensis NB-IoT antennas at the Mobile World Congress Americas last week.
The low-profile, highly efficient NCP.5820 is a NB-IoT ceramic surface mount multiband antenna that supports Bands 8 (880-960 MHz) and 20 (791-862 MHz), as well as Band 5 (824-894 MHz) to allow IoT devices - such as asset trackers - to work across different regions and different carriers. Its low profile (2 mm) and small footprint (14.1 x 8.3 mm) make it the smallest NB-IoT antenna.
The NCP.5820 is designed with the patent-pending Taoglas Boost technology, which delivers up to a 2 dB improvement in antenna performance when integrated into small devices. Taoglas Boost is particularly suited to designs with shorter ground planes, allowing IoT and other device designers to bring to market a wider range of smaller devices that would otherwise not have been able to meet certain stringent carrier certification requirements.
The NCS.5820, is a surface-mount onboard antenna that supports Bands 5, 8 and 20. Its low-profile (1.6 mm) and small footprint (11 x 20 mm) allows the NCS.5820 to be integrated into even the smallest of IoT devices. As it is a larger antenna, it demonstrates higher efficiency, and Taoglas Boost is also available with this antenna, and any Taoglas onboard antenna.
The third antenna in the Extensis range is the patent-pending FXUB64 flexible ultrawideband antenna, which has been designed for all working frequencies in the 600 to 3000 MHz spectrum, covering all Cellular, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, ISM and AGPS, including LTE Band 71. The ultra-thin (130 x 20 x 30*0.2 mm) polymer antenna is delivered with a flexible peel-and-stick body with excellent efficiencies on all bands. Taoglas is the world’s first to include LTE Band 71 in an off-the-shelf cellular antenna product. The antenna is compliant to T-Mobile’s new 600 MHz over-the-air (OTA) requirements when properly integrated into the customer’s device.
Service providers around the world are rolling out NB-IoT network upgrades to support the growing demand to connect IoT devices to support a variety of applications, ranging from bicycle tracking and parking in urban environments to water management to smart metering in remote locations. NB-IoT delivers a wealth of benefits to end users, including low-date-rate transmission, low-power to extend battery life, extended coverage in challenging environments, proven LTE-based security mechanisms, and the ability to support a massive number of connections.
Taoglas supports these benefits by providing highly efficient, low-cost, easy to integrate, reliable antennas in a very small form factor that are suitable across a range of NB-IoT and LPWA (LoRa, Sigfox and ISM) devices and applications.
