• AirLink LX60 first cloud-managed Low Power Wide Area router for IoT
• Offers LTE (Cat-4), LTE-M (Cat-M1) and NB-IoT (Cat-NB1)
• IoT edge programmability, supporting the ALEOS framework
• Critical data can be processed at the edge while optimising transmission

Sierra Wireless has launched the AirLink LX60, which it says is the industry's first cloud-managed Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) cellular router for IoT services. One variant supports NB-IoT and LTE-M (M1), while another supports LTE Cat-4, depending on requirements. The NB-IoT and LTE-M router will provide downlink data transmission rates of up to 300kbit/s and a claimed 5-10 times coverage improvement over standard LTE. That said, the LTE Cat-4 variant supports 150Mbit/s transmission and is available with optional WiFi and GNSS capabilities for connecting retail and commercial fleet applications.

“With more than three million routers and gateways deployed, Sierra Wireless is a trusted partner for thousands of customers who rely on AirLink Networking Solutions to provide secure managed connectivity for mission-critical applications in some of the harshest operating conditions on the planet,” said Jason Krause, SVP & GM, Enterprise Solutions, Sierra Wireless. “The new LX60 provides the same connectivity experience and flexibility as our rugged performance portfolio, but in a new package optimised to meet commercial and enterprise IoT application requirements.”

The company says that with the new LPWA router, businesses can rapidly deploy high-volume IoT applications that scale to tens of thousands of networking devices, using its cloud- or on premises-based Network Management tools for remote monitoring, configuration and control of all connected AirLink routers and gateways. The LX60 also enables IoT edge programmability, supporting the ALEOS application framework for embedded applications, as well as tightly integrated cloud services and APIs. This means critical data can be processed at the edge while optimizing data transmission.

“Our customers expect WiFi service wherever they are; whether it’s in retail locations or taxis,” said Brian Anderson, VP Products at Colony Networks, a cloud-based provider of WiFi solutions. “The LX60 with WiFi and GNSS offers easy-to-deploy, secure, reliable cellular backhauled WiFi in virtually any location.”