SORACOM will begin offering the "Wio BG770A v1.1," a cellular IoT device development board developed by Seeed, on its device e-commerce site, "SORACOM IoT Store," starting September 15. The list price is 14,850 yen (tax included, shipping separate), and purchases can be made through the SORACOM IoT Store. As a compact, LTE-M compatible microcontroller board that can be developed with the Arduino IDE, it is a product designed to support IoT development from prototyping to full-scale operation.
The Wio BG770A v1.1 is a development board equipped with a Quectel "BG770A-GL" modem and supports low-power LTE-M communication. A major feature is its four Grove connectors, which allow for easy connection of sensors and actuators. It also supports power-saving communication via eDRX and PSM, making it suitable for remote monitoring of industrial equipment and agricultural instruments, as well as for developing battery-powered IoT devices designed for long-term operation.
In v1.1, the Grove power supply circuit has been revised, and a function to measure power supply voltage has been added. Furthermore, when connecting to existing equipment via UART, it can now receive DC3.3V power supply through the Grove-UART connector, which reportedly increases flexibility during implementation. On the other hand, the basic specifications and available functions remain unchanged from v1.0, allowing existing sketches to be largely reused simply by switching the "Board Version" in the Arduino IDE from "1.0" to "1.1." However, sketches containing descriptions related to Grove connector power control may require some revision.
Power supply is supported via USB Type-C, Grove-UART (3.3V), and JST PH connector (DC 3.4-16V), with operation using dry cell batteries or rechargeable batteries also envisioned. It also supports positioning via GPS and GLONASS, but this is mutually exclusive with cellular communication. The included items are the Wio BG770A v1.1 main unit, one LTE antenna, and a coupon for 1,000 yen worth of SORACOM service usage, with the coupon valid for 6 months and applicable only to services with Japan coverage. Supported subscriptions include plan-D and plan-KM1 for region-specific IoT SIMs, and plan01s, plan01s-LDV, and planX3 for SORACOM IoT SIMs.
The product is intended for the Japanese domestic market, and a SORACOM IoT SIM is not included, requiring separate purchase. The price is 14,850 yen (tax included, shipping separate), and purchases can be made by following the procedures on the SORACOM IoT Store product page.