Wireless communication methods include various communication standards such as Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi™, Zigbee, and Sub-GHz original protocol (920 MHz in Japan). Most people select and use the one that best suits their equipment from among them, but there is also an increasing need to use multiple communication methods in combination.

For example, the Sub-GHz band such as 920MHz is resistant to interference and is the best frequency for long-distance communication, but it has the disadvantage that it cannot communicate directly with display terminals (smartphones and tablets). By implementing these two at the same time, you can build a system that takes advantage of the strengths of both.
Also, while Zigbee, which is ideal for Home Automation, can build a robust mesh network, it has the disadvantage of not being able to communicate directly with display terminals (smartphones and tablets). In this case as well, by implementing Bluetooth together, you can build a system that takes advantage of the advantages of both. (An alternative method is to use the AI speaker as an input interface.)

In order to implement multiple wireless protocols in a device, it is usually necessary to install multiple wireless modules (or SoC), resulting in a very expensive system. However, Silicon Labs has come up with a solution that defies conventional wisdom.


Silicon Labs' EFR32MGxx (Mighty Gecko family) supports Bluetooth, Zigbee, Thread, and Sub-GHz with a single chip, and can be used while switching the implemented wireless protocol. This is called multi-protocol support. The actual operation is introduced in another topic "What is the wireless starter kit SLWSTK6000B that can evaluate ZigBee, Thread, and BLE simultaneously?"​

For dynamic multi-protocol, as of June 2018,

• Bluetooth/Zigbee
• Bluetooth / Proprietary (2.4GHz, Sub-GHz)

It corresponds to the combination of

MGMxxx (Mighty Gecko Module family), which is modularized using EFR32MGxx (Mighty Gecko family), is compatible with Bluetooth/Zigbee and Bluetooth/original (2.4GHz) because it has only a 2.4GHz antenna. In addition, regarding Bluetooth / original (920MHz), there is a module made by a domestic partner company, and we can propose it.