AT&T gave IoT company Telit Cinterion a major boost by approving its latest LPWA module, a blessing enabling the unit to be deployed on the US operator’s LTE-M network.

Telit Cinterion stated the ME310M1-W1 module is the first based on Sony Semiconductor Israel’s Altair ALT1350 chipset to be approved by AT&T. The IoT company now plans to seek approval for 3GPP specifications in various releases, with data communication over non-terrestrial networks among them.

AT&T lists utility meters, agriculture, alarms and smoke detectors among the potential uses of its LTE-M network, which covers large parts of North America with a low-power network.

Cameron Coursey, VP of AT&T Connected Solutions, explained the module is well-suited to the services run on its LTE-M network, because “many IoT applications have business models that require zero touch after installation”.

Telit Cinterion highlighted Sony’s chip is compatible with licensed and unlicensed spectrum, along with satellite connectivity, factors the IoT player stated helps to deliver smaller modules and lower power consumption.