Semitech Semiconductor Dual-Mode Communication Platform Receives G3-PLC Hybrid Certification

The mission of Semitech Semiconductor is simple: Semitech provides highly versatile, reliable, robust and low-cost communications semiconductors and embedded system products for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) space. Semitech’s high-performance wireless and power line communication (PLC) solutions impact the likes of smart grid, smart lighting and automotive markets, and recently the company announced that its SM2400 PLC+RF reference design module has officially been certified by the G3-Alliance.

Let’s break this down:

Created in 2011 to standardize global technologies, the G3-Alliance consortium’s Hybrid PLC+RF specifications are, per G3-Alliance itself, “the first industry hybrid standard that covers extended capabilities for smart grid and applications in IoT/IIoT.” Certification from this entity validates platforms and, ultimately, their conformance to rigorous G3-Alliance Hybrid specifications. Additionally, it assures true interoperability when using Semitech’s solution in G3-Hybrid networks, in this particular case.

As Zeev Collin, CEO of Semitech Semiconductor, said when I had the chance to speak with him earlier this year, “IoT and IIoT can be a very fragmented space. We find the sweet spots in industrial applications to deliver the core technologies behind trusted communications in every use case we can.”

Such use cases involve smart grid implementations, ones not without their needs for major investments. So ensuring that meters, data concentrators and other devices can communicate reliably, meet performance levels and are interoperable is critical. This affects smart metering and myriad smart city applications, among others.

“Hybrid PLC+RF networks deliver high reliability and scalability, while adding flexibility and increasing data capacity and speed,” Collin said. “Customers want to use certified platforms as a stamp of quality approval and to ensure ease of use with other products sharing the same networks. We are very proud of our contribution to the G3-Hybrid standard and of having a certified solution.”

More information about technology enabler Semitech Semiconductors be found here.