The RM500 5G modem from Quectel, a Chinese company, has been reported by Microsoft as a 5G reference case for Azure Percept AI.

Quectel Wireless is an IoT module and antenna manufacturer. Microsoft Azure has leveraged its RM500 5G modem and RMU500 USB modem developer kit as a reference case for 5G connectivity for its Azure Percept artificial intelligence (AI) kit, according to the company. Because Azure Percept merges hardware and Azure services, providing cellular connectivity to developers’ capabilities is critical.

All Microsoft customers across the world can utilize the RM500 and RMU500 as the reference case for the Microsoft user guide “How to connect Azure Percept over 5G or LTE networks.” Microsoft also has additional information unique to the RM500 in the article “Connect Azure Percept DK over 5G or LTE by using a Quectel RM500 5G modem,” which explains how to connect Azure Percept over 5G or LTE with the RM500-GL 5G modem.

The RM500 is a 5G sub-6GHz M.2 module that measures 52.0 by 30.0 by 2.3mm and is tailored for IoT and eMBB applications anywhere in the world, according to the 3GPP Release 15 specification. It supports both standalone and non-standalone modes and has maximum downlink and uplink rates of 2.5Gbit/s and 900Mbit/s, respectively.

“We’re delighted that Microsoft Azure has chosen to use the Quectel RM500-GL 5G modem and our RMU500 USB developer kit as a reference case for customers looking to roll out Azure Percept AI capabilities alongside integrated hardware and Azure services,” said Alexander Bufalino, vice president of marketing at Quectel Wireless. “The helpful documents explain clearly how the process works and also have contact details for Quectel so customers can easily get in touch to order modules and the kit. These step-by-step user guides make it simpler and faster for customers to set up connectivity for their Azure Percept projects enabling connected AI to help build a smarter world.”