Chinese module maker Fibocom has launched the RU311 series, a family of 5G RedCap modules built so that device makers can move existing 4G products to 5G without redesigning their circuit boards. RedCap, short for reduced capability, is a slimmed-down version of 5G for devices that need more speed than basic IoT networks offer but far less than a smartphone.
The key detail is the footprint: the main RU311 version comes in a 32 by 29 millimetre package that matches Fibocom’s existing NL668 and L716 LTE Cat 4 modules, as well as its earlier FG132 RedCap module, so a product built around one of those 4G parts can take the new module with little or no board change, and the module also comes in M.2 and Mini PCIe card formats.
That makes the RU311 less a speed story than a migration story, and one aimed squarely at the mid-tier of IoT.
What The RU311 Actually Offers
UNISOC’s V527 chipset powers the module, which reaches up to 226 megabits per second down and 120 up on 5G. Crucially, it also works as a normal LTE Cat 4 module, at up to 150 megabits down and 50 up, whenever a 5G signal is not available.
Fibocom is pitching it at industrial gateways, security cameras, aftermarket car devices, energy equipment and portable Wi-Fi hotspots, the kind of products that send video or steady streams of data and today mostly run on 4G Cat 4.
“The RU311 further expands Fibocom’s 5G RedCap portfolio,” said Kony Li, general manager of the company’s machine-type communications business.
The uplink figure is the one to watch for many of those products. A security camera or an industrial gateway sends far more data than it receives, and the jump from 50 megabits on 4G Cat 4 to 120 on RedCap gives video and sensor-heavy devices noticeably more headroom without the cost and power draw of a full 5G module.
The chip underneath has been on the market since February, and UNISOC says the V527 has completed network testing with 163 operators in 122 countries and is already shipping in volume in 85, and that it cuts sleep-mode power by 13 percent against the previous generation.
Why A 4G Fallback Still Matters
That LTE fallback is not a nice-to-have, because RedCap only works on 5G standalone networks, the newer kind of 5G that runs without a 4G core underneath, and many operators have not switched those on for IoT yet.
The industry body GSA counted 43 operators in 28 countries investing in RedCap in its latest update this month, with recent commercial launches from Rogers in Canada, Com4 in Norway and Zain in Saudi Arabia. That is real progress, but it is still a minority of the world’s mobile operators.
A device maker shipping globally therefore cannot assume RedCap coverage everywhere its products end up. A module that behaves as a 5G device where it can and a 4G device where it must lets one product design serve both kinds of market, and move up to 5G as networks change without a new board.
There is a longer clock running, too, since operators will eventually shut down their 4G networks, as they did with 2G and 3G, and devices sold today can stay in the field for a decade. We looked at how that plays out for cars in LTE’s ticking clock, and the same logic applies to industrial gear.
A Crowded Race In The Mid-Tier
Fibocom is not alone in chasing that upgrade: Quectel, the market leader with 41 percent of global shipments in the second quarter according to Counterpoint, launched its own RedCap modules with LTE Cat 4 fallback earlier this year, built on Qualcomm silicon.
Distributor Mouser listed its global version at $143.85 in March, which gives a sense of where RedCap prices sit today. GSA counts 34 RedCap modules and nine chipsets on the market, so buyers have a growing choice.
Fibocom’s bet is that pin compatibility with its own 4G modules will keep existing customers loyal when they upgrade. We have seen how hard the module market has become for smaller players, with Semtech recently agreeing to sell its modules business, and making an upgrade easy is one of the few ways a vendor can hold on to a design after winning it.
For buyers, pin compatibility is valuable but not free, because it ties the next product generation to the same vendor’s footprint, so buyers should weigh the convenience of a drop-in upgrade against the chance to compare prices and features across suppliers.
RedCap Is A Bridge, eRedCap Is The Bigger Prize
The RU311 also sits in the smaller half of the RedCap story. ABI Research expects 80 million RedCap modules to ship between 2024 and 2029, but only 29 percent of them standard RedCap parts like this one, which replace 4G Cat 4 and Cat 6.
ABI expects the other 71 percent to be eRedCap, an even simpler version of 5G aimed at the much larger market now served by 4G Cat 1 and Cat 1 bis, the low-cost workhorses we covered in why Cat 1 bis won. GSA expects eRedCap chips and devices to become commercially available early next year.
That puts Fibocom’s launch in context: it serves the device makers who need 5G-class speed now, while the volume battle moves to eRedCap, where chipmakers such as Sequans are also preparing entries, as we noted in its turn back to IoT chips.
Upgrade Now Or Wait For eRedCap
Fibocom has not published certification status, regional variants or availability dates for the RU311, and those details will decide how quickly it reaches real products. Until then, the module offers the promise of an easy path rather than a proven one.
For device makers, the real decision is timing, since a Cat 4 product that needs more uplink today can move to RedCap now and keep 4G as a safety net, while a cheaper Cat 1 bis device is probably better off waiting a year for eRedCap and a wider choice of standalone 5G networks. Either way, the smart move is to design boards with room for the next module, whichever vendor supplies it.
