- RedCap is the hot new IoT technology in the 5G era
- It’s been slow to roll out due to its ties to 5G standalone (SA) networks
- AT&T said it reached a major milestone by achieving nationwide coverage for RedCap, but it’s not claiming a full-blown nationwide SA deployment
AT&T aims to keep its lead in IoT in the 5G era and toward that end, it’s marking the nationwide availability of 5G RedCap. The operator announced today that it now covers more than 200 million POPs across the country with RedCap.
RedCap is the first 5G-specific specification for IoT that was outlined in 3GPP Release 17. It promises faster data transfer speeds – between 30 Mbps to 80 Mbps – and uses less bandwidth, allowing a signal to run in a 20 MHz channel instead of the 100 MHz channels required for full-scale 5G communications.
But it’s been slow to roll out, in part due to its dependence on 5G standalone (SA) networks. T-Mobile is the only U.S. operator to claim a nationwide deployment of 5G SA.
Since AT&T is announcing nationwide coverage of 5G RedCap, Fierce asked if it’s now offering 5G SA nationwide. But an AT&T spokesperson didn’t respond to our questions. That may be because while AT&T offers RedCap nationwide, it’s not yet offering all the bells and whistles that a 5G SA network promises, like network slicing, coast to coast. And/or, maybe it’s saving that announcement for another day.
RedCap starts with hotspots, dongles
For the time being, AT&T is celebrating its RedCap moment with the certification of the Franklin Wireless RG350 mobile hotspot, which is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X35 5G Modem-RF system. That’s the same Qualcomm modem that’s powering the TCL Linkport IK511 5G connectivity device, which T-Mobile made available on its SA network last year.
AT&T VP of Device Technology Jason Sikes told Fierce last year that RedCap would likely first support low-cost hotspots and dongles first before showing up in smart watches and wearables, and that prediction appears to be on the mark. AT&T first started rolling out RedCap in the Dallas metro area last year.
“RedCap is a critical enabler for the next wave of IoT innovation,” Sikes said in a blog post today.
RedCap stands for “reduced capability,” which was created to deliberately scale down performance features to enable lower cost, smaller form factors and great efficiencies. It requires fewer antennas, lower processing power, less battery consumption and simplified radio frequency components compared to full-scale 5G devices, Sikes noted.
AT&T is also working with module providers such as Semtech, Telit Cinterion and Rhino Mobility to certify new modules.
ABI Research last year forecast IoT RedCap module shipments to reach 80 million between 2024 and 2029.