Raspberry Pi 3 today has only Wi-Fi connectivity, but soon it will also be able to handle low-throughput cellular communications and let users control devices over long distances.

Altair has completed testing of its ALT1160 Category 1 LTE chip on Raspberry Pi, and is making it available, a company representative said. That’s significant, as it will bring much-needed, long-range communications to the popular board computer.

The LTE chip is ready for sale by Altair and its partners, a company representative said. The chip will be included in various third-party add-on LTE expansion boards and sensor modules for Raspberry Pi; otherwise, Altair will take volume orders for the chip. Each chip will cost roughly $15 to $20, though prices are coming down, said Eran Eshed, co-founder of Altair. 

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