Blues and Skylo claim an industry first by combining satellite, cellular and wifi in a single IoT module.

The Blues Notecard for Skylo module doesn’t require satellite subscriptions or commitments.

Unveiled at last week’s Embedded World in Nuremberg, the product delivers automatic failover across three radio access technologies (RATs): NTN satellite powered by Skylo, narrowband cellular and wifi.

“We have logistics and cargo customers that are using cellular as their primary, but can lose connectivity,” said Brandon Satrom, senior vice president at Blues (blues.com). “If there is a problem, they can use this to connect to satellite.”

Notecard for Skylo (blues.com/products/notecard/notecard-for-skylo/) adds cloud connectivity with multi-network failover to any narrowband connected device. Designed for mission-critical industries such as transportation, logistics, energy and commercial equipment, the module empowers developers to prototype faster and enables decision-makers to deploy narrowband at scale and at a lower cost. For example, a logistics asset could operate on wifi in depots, cellular on-road and satellite in remote regions, with Notecard for Skylo intelligently switching between networks as needed.

Traditional satellite IoT options burden customers with a second satellite module, monthly subscription fees and minimum commitments. Notecard for Skylo eliminates all three: no additional hardware, no satellite subscription contract and no minimums.

“The satellite is usage based rather than having a monthly fee,” said Satrom. “They pay just pennies.”

Multiple RATs ensure customers maintain reliable access to device data, with wireless connections automatically falling back to secondary and tertiary networks if the primary connection becomes unavailable. Notecard for Skylo offers the same cellular connectivity as other Notecard products, plus satellite uplink and downlink to keep devices connected beyond cellular range. For those currently using narrowband, it provides upgraded capability with satellite failover. Those requiring midband (LTE Cat 1bis) or wideband (LTE Cat 1) global or regional support should still use a Starnote accessory.

“Two years ago, Blues and Skylo teamed up to launch Starnote for Skylo, an add-on to our flagship Notecard that brought satellite connectivity to our customers,” said Satrom. “As adoption grew, it became clear that some of our customers wanted a single module for seamless wifi-to-cellular-to-satellite failover. In response, Blues and Skylo collaborated once again, developing Notecard for Skylo to deliver the simplicity, affordability and innovation customers expect from Blues.”

Vijay Krishnan, vice president at Skylo (www.skylo.tech), added: “Our partnership with Blues continues to raise the bar for what’s possible in NTN connectivity. Notecard for Skylo makes reliable, standards-based satellite connectivity accessible to more industries and device types than ever before. As businesses look to scale critical operations in areas where coverage is unpredictable, this integrated module provides the resilience, reach and reliability they can trust, backed by a global NTN network built for real-world performance.”