Swedish maker hardware company iLabs has released what appears to be the first Raspberry Pi RP2350-based board with NB-IoT cellular connectivity. The Challenger+ RP2350 NB-IoT pairs the dual-core RP2350A microcontroller with an STMicroelectronics ST87M01 NB-IoT and GNSS module, all packed into the compact Adafruit Feather form factor at just 5.08 x 2.29 cm (2.0 x 0.9 inches) and 9 grams (0.3 oz).

The RP2350A at the heart of the board offers a choice between dual Arm Cortex-M33 cores or dual 32-bit RISC-V cores running at 150 MHz, backed by 520 KB of internal RAM, 8 MB of PSRAM, and 8 MB of SPI flash. The ST87M01 module handles LTE Cat NB2 connectivity across six worldwide bands (B1, B3, B5, B8, B20, B28) with data rates up to 159 kbps uplink and 127 kbps downlink, and its power consumption is remarkably low, dropping to 1.2 uA in PSM sleep mode and 0.5 uA in eDRX power-off mode. Built-in GNSS supports GPS L1 and Galileo with assisted positioning over the cellular link, plus a Wi-Fi scan fallback for indoor location.

On the software side, the board supports Arduino IDE, CircuitPython, MicroPython, and the Raspberry Pi Pico C SDK. Firmware updates can be pushed over the air via Differential FOTA over LwM2M or applied locally over UART. A nano SIM slot accepts standard carrier SIMs, and iLabs offers an optional 1NCE IoT SIM with 500 MB of data and 250 SMS messages for long-term deployments. The board also includes a JST connector for a 3.7V LiPo battery with an onboard 500 mA charger, making it well suited for remote, battery-powered applications like asset tracking, smart metering, and environmental sensing.

The Challenger+ RP2350 NB-IoT is available now from the iLabs store for $60 (€55), with an optional LTE antenna available for roughly $8 (€7). The board carries GCF, RED, RED-DA, and RoHS certifications.