Wi-Fi HaLow Goes Global: Morse Micro and DigiKey Unlock Next-Gen IoT

SYDNEY & IRVINE, Calif. – May 07, 2026 – In a significant move to accelerate the adoption of next-generation Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, leading Wi-Fi HaLow silicon provider Morse Micro has announced a global distribution partnership with electronics giant DigiKey. The collaboration makes Morse Micro’s award-winning, long-range, low-power wireless solutions readily available to engineers and developers across the globe, aiming to dismantle barriers to innovation and scale.

Through DigiKey’s extensive distribution network, customers now have immediate access to Morse Micro’s second-generation MM8108 product line. This includes the MM8108-MF15457 transceiver module and a suite of evaluation and development kits designed to fast-track prototyping for applications spanning smart buildings, industrial automation, and precision agriculture. The partnership is poised to be a critical catalyst for Wi-Fi HaLow, moving the powerful standard from a promising niche technology into the mainstream development pipeline.

“Partnering with DigiKey is an important step in making Morse Micro’s Wi-Fi HaLow technology more accessible to developers and customers around the world,” said Michael De Nil, co-founder and CEO of Morse Micro. “Customers need easy access to proven hardware alongside faster development pathways and trusted distribution. Working with DigiKey gives us another powerful route to the global engineering community and strengthens our ability to accelerate adoption of Wi-Fi HaLow across a broad range of IoT applications.”

The Distribution Power Play

The strategic importance of this partnership extends beyond simple product availability. DigiKey serves as a crucial gateway for emerging technologies, possessing the logistical prowess and market influence to propel specialized components into widespread use. For a technology like Wi-Fi HaLow, which offers distinct advantages but has a less mature ecosystem than traditional Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, such a partnership is a powerful accelerant.

By listing Morse Micro's silicon and development kits, DigiKey is effectively endorsing Wi-Fi HaLow's readiness for commercial applications. This move reduces the friction for engineers, who can now source, test, and integrate the technology with the same ease as any other component in their designs. The market for Wi-Fi HaLow modules is already projected to grow from approximately $1.12 billion in 2024 to over $3.8 billion by 2033, and this partnership is set to fuel that expansion.

“DigiKey is pleased to work with Morse Micro to bring its Wi-Fi HaLow portfolio to customers worldwide,” stated Nate Witsaman, manager of new market development for DigiKey. “Morse Micro is enabling a new class of connected devices with long-range, low-power Wi-Fi, and we’re excited to help engineers access these innovative products more easily.”

Beyond Traditional Wi-Fi: The Promise of HaLow

Wi-Fi HaLow, standardized as IEEE 802.11ah, was specifically designed to address the shortcomings of conventional Wi-Fi for IoT applications. Operating in the unlicensed sub-1 GHz spectrum, it delivers a unique combination of features that are transformative for connected devices.

Its most cited advantage is its incredible range. While traditional Wi-Fi struggles to cover a large house, Wi-Fi HaLow can transmit data over a kilometer, representing a tenfold increase in distance and a hundredfold increase in coverage area. This is achieved by using lower-frequency radio waves that also penetrate walls, floors, and other obstacles far more effectively than the crowded 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Morse Micro has even demonstrated stable video connectivity over nearly 16 kilometers in ideal conditions, showcasing the technology's immense potential.

Equally critical for the IoT is power consumption. Wi-Fi HaLow is engineered for efficiency, allowing devices like remote sensors or asset trackers to operate for months or even years on a single coin-cell battery. Furthermore, a single HaLow access point can support over 8,000 connected devices, a massive increase over traditional Wi-Fi routers, drastically reducing the infrastructure cost and complexity for large-scale deployments. By natively supporting IP-based networks, it also allows devices to connect directly to the cloud without requiring proprietary gateways, simplifying network architecture and enhancing security with standards like WPA3.

Navigating the Crowded IoT Connectivity Landscape

Wi-Fi HaLow does not enter the market in a vacuum. It competes within the Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) space against established technologies like LoRaWAN and NB-IoT. However, it carves out a distinct and compelling niche.

Compared to LoRaWAN, which excels at sending tiny packets of data over very long distances with minimal power, Wi-Fi HaLow offers significantly higher data throughput—up to tens of megabits per second. This makes it suitable for applications that require more than just a sensor reading, such as transmitting images, streaming low-resolution video from security cameras, or performing over-the-air firmware updates. It strikes a balance between range, power, and performance that LoRaWAN cannot match.

Against NB-IoT, which leverages existing cellular infrastructure for broad coverage, Wi-Fi HaLow’s primary advantage is its allowance for private, self-managed networks. This liberates organizations from reliance on cellular carriers and associated data plans, offering greater control, security, and potentially lower long-term operational costs for deployments within a defined area like a factory campus, farm, or logistics hub.

From Smart Farms to Smart Factories

The true impact of this democratized access to Wi-Fi HaLow will be seen in the field. In smart agriculture, the technology can connect soil moisture sensors, weather stations, and livestock trackers across thousands of acres, enabling data-driven decisions that improve yields and reduce waste. In industrial settings, it provides the reliable, pervasive connectivity needed for asset tracking in sprawling warehouses and for predictive maintenance sensors on machinery in environments with significant radio frequency interference.

For smart cities, Wi-Fi HaLow can form the backbone of a network connecting everything from smart streetlights and parking meters to environmental monitors and waste management sensors, all managed with fewer access points than other technologies would require. The availability of production-ready modules and easy-to-use development kits from a trusted source like DigiKey empowers engineers in these sectors to move from concept to reality faster than ever before. This strategic move positions Wi-Fi HaLow not just as a viable alternative, but as a compelling successor to legacy connectivity solutions in the rapidly expanding Internet of Things.