The first 5G IoT RedCap devices are coming soon from T-Mobile and AT&T
Wearables and a mini router "puck" may be among the first devices
RedCap is based on the 3GPP Release 17 specification
MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS LAS VEGAS – Major operators in the United States are preparing to launch their first RedCap 5G Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
T-Mobile told Fierce that it would launch its first RedCap device by the end of this year. AT&T, meanwhile, said to expect its first RedCap devices next year. All of this should pave the way for higher performance 5G gadgets to make an impact in the world of IoT.
RedCap, which stands for reduced capabilities, was introduced as part of the 3GPP’s Release 17 5G standard, which was completed – or frozen in 3GPP terms – in mid-2022. The specification, which is also called NR-Light, is the first 5G-specific spec for IoT.
RedCap promises to offer data transfer speeds of between 30 Mbps to 80 Mbps. The RedCap spec greatly reduces the bandwidth needed for 5G, allowing the signal to run in a 20 MHz channel rather than the 100 MHz channel required for full scale 5G communications.
Ulf Ewaldsson, president of Technology at T-Mobile, said that T-Mobile is planning to launch its first RedCap device within a few months.
“It’s happening before the end of the year,” Ewaldsson said. The executive didn’t share any details on what type of gadget the initial T-Mobile RedCap would be.
Cameron Coursey, vice president of Connected Solutions at AT&T, said that “next year” the AT&T 5G network would be “ready for RedCap.” AT&T was the first U.S. operator to start testing RedCap earlier this year.
Coursey was more forthcoming on the types of devices he expects to be launched, suggesting some kind of “wearable” and “a Mi-Fi kind of puck.” Mi-Fi is a mini router that takes a 5G signal and delivers Wi-Fi out to the user.
“Good news that they are introducing RedCap devices,” Mobile Experts chief analyst Joe Madden told Fierce in an email. “That means that they have confidence in their standalone (SA) core networks that have started at small scale.”
T-Mobile switched on its low-band 600 MHz nationwide 5G SA core in August 2020, while AT&T started to roll out its SA core in late 2022. It's unknown when Verizon plans to launch a RedCap device, but we know they're working on it.