Sequans Communications, S.A., a leading cellular IoT chipmaker, announces that it has been granted financing of 10.9 million EUR from the French government as part of the France 2030 initiative to support the development of technologies deemed to be strategically important to the national interest.

Such financing will be received with an upfront payment followed by three milestone payments over the duration of the project. The France 2030 initiative, operated for the state by Bpifrance, aims to transform key sectors of the French economy, including the telecom sector, called for projects to accelerate the development of 5G and beyond as “sovereign solutions”.

In its proposal, Sequans outlined a plan to create a new generation massive IoT chip supporting 5G NR eRedCap (5G new radio enhanced reduced capability) that meets the requirements of the 3GPP standard defined in Release 18 and beyond. 5G NR eRedCap will comply with the latest 5G NR networks and address massive IoT applications with cost-effective, low-power, and ultra-reliable connectivity required for industrial, utilities, medical, asset tracking, and automotive applications.

Georges Karam, Sequans CEO, said:

“We are grateful that our proposal was chosen by France 2030 as it strengthens and secures our massive IoT low-power 5G product portfolio development. In addition to 5G NR eRedCap support, this new chip will be backward compatible with existing 4G networks, providing a smooth transition path from 4G to the latest 5G networks for the next ten years”.

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