Simplia CONNECT RW612 is a 6-in-1 M.2 2230 wireless module that offers dual-band WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.4 LE, an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee or Thread, LTE Cat-M, NB-IoT, and GNSS connectivity.
It’s the first module I’ve seen that implements so many wireless standards into a tiny M.2 2230 module. It’s made possible by combining an NXP RW612 WiFi, BLE, and 802.15.4 module with an optional Quectel BC77 LTE-M, NB-IoT, and GNSS module.
Simplia CONNECT RW612 specifications:
- Wireless modules
- Murata Type 2FR (LBESOZZ2FR)
- SoC – NXP RW612
- CPU – Arm Cortex-M33 @ 260 MHz
- Memory – 1.2 MB SRAM
- Wireless
- Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) 1×1 SISO
- Bluetooth LE 5.4
- 802.15.4 radio for Thread and Zigbee
- Storage – 16MB or 32MB integrated flash memory via FlexSPI
- Security – NXP EdgeLock
- Package – 12.0 x 11.0 x 1.5 mm (BGA)
- SoC – NXP RW612
- Optional Quectel BG77 (BG77LA, similar to the BG770A minus 5G NTN support)
- LTE Features
- 3GPP Rel. 14
- LTE Cat M1 (LTE-M/eMTC)
- 1.4 MHz RF bandwidth
- Up to 588 kbps (DL), 1119 kbps (UL)
- LTE Cat NB2 (NB-IoT)
- 200 KHz RF bandwidth
- Up to 127 kbps (DL), 158.5 kbps (UL)
- Tx power – 21 dBm +1.7/-3 dB (Class 5)
- GNSS – GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, and QZSS
- Package – 14.9 × 12.9 x 1.7 mm
- LTE Features
- Murata Type 2FR (LBESOZZ2FR)
- Host interface – M.2 edge connector with USB 2.0, SD, RMII, UART, I2C, and possibly other interfaces (TBC)
- Expansion – 40-pin high-density Hirose connector with USB OTG, SWD, UART, I2C, SD, SIM card, 17x GPIOs (TBC)
- Misc – 3x IPEX connectors for cellular, GNSS, and WiFi/BT/802.15.4
- Power Supply – 3.3V
- Dimensions – 30 x 22 mm (standard M.2 2230 module)
Note that the company has not provided details for the 40-pin expansion connector and M.2 edge connector pinout, so I based these parts of the specifications on the block diagram above, and the GitHub repo for the earlier CONNECT IMXRT 1052 module with a similar form factor.
On the software side, we’re told that an SDK is provided with support for pin muxing and not much else. It’s probably based on MCUXpresso SDK (bare metal or FreeRTOS), although another option for RW612 is Zephyr RTOS (Tier 2, community supported).
Three SKUs are available:
- BAR0422 – Murata Type 2FR WiFi + BT 16MB Flash
- BAR0622 – Murata Type 2FR WiFi + BT 32MB Flash
- BAR0423 – Murata Type 2FR WiFi + BT 16MB Flash, Modem BG77-GNSS
That means only the BAR0423 implements all six wireless options. The company has not provided pricing, but for reference, the Murata Type 2FR module sells for about $14 and the Quectel BG77 module for about $20 in quantities (1K), so something around $100 might be possible considering the niche market. A few more details can be found on the product page.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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