Altair Enables LTE Connectivity for Raspberry Pi In First-of-Its-Kind Trial

HOD HASHARON, Israel, November 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Altair Semiconductor (altair-semi.com), a leading provider of LTE chipsets, today announced that its ALT1160 CAT-1 chipset has successfully completed a trial with Raspberry Pi to provide LTE connectivity on the system for the first time.

Originally developed as an affordable, credit-card sized computer for students to learn programming, Raspberry Pi is now being adopted by the wider market due to its flexibility and low cost. Connecting Altair's LTE modem to Raspberry Pi will allow users to access cellular WAN connectivity remotely, in addition to the more traditional Wi-Fi or wired connections.

"We are dedicated to providing low-cost, high-performance computers to connect people, enable them to learn, solve problems and have fun," said Dr. Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry Pi (Trading) Ltd. "Altair has long been regarded as an LTE connectivity leader, and we are pleased to collaborate on this trial, which is the first of its kind. Users will only benefit by having the choice of using BT, Wi-Fi or LTE."

Since Wi-Fi networks have a limited geographic range, the addition of Altair's LTE chipset enables wider, more flexible coverage across the country. The solution will enable users to quickly browse the internet and stream high-definition video from anywhere, in addition to other applications such as (home automation, robots or remote surveillance camera with LTE access.

Altair's LTE Category-1 chipset features downlink speeds of up to 10Mbps and extremely low power consumption. The chipset is software upgradable for CAT-M1 LTE connectivity, targeting low power, low throughput IoT devices. The cost-optimized chipset is highly integrated and includes an advanced on-chip power management unit, integrated DDR memory and a low power CPU subsystem with a strong security framework for customer developed applications.

"The integration of Altair's LTE chipset with Raspberry Pi makes it one of the most portable, affordable, and practical connectivity solutions on the market," said Eran Eshed, Co-Founder and VP of Worldwide Sales and Marketing at Altair. "More than 10 million Raspberry Pis have been sold to date, and we're pleased to debut this proof-of-concept to extend its range and value."

About Altair Semiconductor 

Altair Semiconductor is a leading provider of single-mode LTE chipsets. Altair's portfolio covers the complete spectrum of cellular 4G market needs, from supercharged video-centric applications all the way to ultra-low power, low cost IoT and M2M. Altair has shipped millions of LTE chipsets to date, commercially deployed on the world's most advanced LTE networks including Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Softbank and KT (Korea Telecom). The company's customer roster includes some of the world's leading OEMs and ODMs, such as Hewlett-Packard, ASUS, D-Link and WNC, as well as the majority of Asian ODMs developing LTE products for global markets. For more information, visit http://www.altair-semi.com. Follow Altair on Twitter: @AltairSemi 

Media/Analyst Contact:

Finn Partners Israel for Altair Semiconductor
Glenn Jasper
[email protected]
@goeljasper
+1-929-222-8002

SOURCE Altair Semiconductor