Application-Optimized Wireless SoC Hits the Sweet Spot for Sub-GHz IoT

Sept. 26, 2025

Silicon Labs’ new FG23L is an IoT/IIoT connectivity device that balances performance and cost to target resource-constrained applications.

David Maliniak

Related To:

Microwaves & RF

68d593f767147d721fdaf829 Silabs Fg23l Thumbnail

The Overview: Sub-GHz IoT Connectivity

Offering secure, long-range connectivity in a myriad of IoT/IIoT use cases, Silicon Labs’ new FG23L wireless SoC opens sub-GHz-frequency to broad markets and higher volume applications. The device, which is the latest addition to the company’s Series 2 portfolio, pairs high compute power with high radio performance and enhanced peripherals.

Who Needs It & Why: An Expansive Feature Set and Scalability

More IoT/IIoT devices come online every day, whether in smart homes/cities, industrial automation, or building automation applications. Designers and integrators in these use cases are looking for the best combination of wireless range, efficiency, and data security they can find while avoiding tradeoffs that sacrifice one or more of these key attributes. They’re also looking for solutions that provide scalability in smart-city scenarios as well as in large industrial environments. Silicon Labs has designed the FG23L to meet these needs at a competitive cost.

Under the Hood: Lots of Peripherals and GPIOs

Thanks to a claimed best-in-class link budget of ~146 dB, the FG23L delivers up to twice the range of comparable devices. Further, it offers a combination of +20-dBm transmit power, high receive sensitivity, and extremely low power consumption. These characteristics add up to reliable connectivity and more than 10 years of battery life, which enhances large-scale IoT/IIoT deployments that depend heavily on long-term reliability and total cost of ownership.

At the heart of the FG23L is a 78-MHz Cortex-M33 dual-core wireless architecture, which is paired with Silicon Labs’ Secure Vault Mid security technology for powerful compute performance, robust connectivity, and protection against cyberthreats. The device provides a rich set of peripherals, 23 GPIOs, and the company’s suite of development tools, which include Simplicity Studio 5 and the Radio Configurator. These tools speed up development and reduce complexity across global sub-GHz bands.

General availability of the EFR32FG23L wireless SoCs begins on September 30; development kits are now available.

About the Author

David Maliniak | Executive Editor, Microwaves & RF

I am Executive Editor of Microwaves & RF, an all-digital publication that broadly covers all aspects of wireless communications. More particularly, we're keeping a close eye on technologies in the consumer-oriented 5G, 6G, IoT, M2M, and V2X markets, in which much of the wireless market's growth will occur in this decade and beyond. I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, developers, and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.

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About me:

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy, leaving to rejoin the EOEM B2B publishing world in January 2020. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.