French telecoms firm Orange has confirmed it’ll continue deploying its LoRa Internet of Things network to 120 urban areas of France by early 2017.
Once the network has been deployed, it’s estimated that 2,600 French towns will be connected and benefit from the tech. Connectivity will be offered inside as well as outside.
By pairing the network with LoRa technology, the company hopes it can cater for the ever-increasing needs of business customers. They should now be able to run more projects based on low-power connected objects and devices.
IoT focus
Orange is quickly becoming a leader in the machine-to-machine (M2M) industry and currently has over 10 million IoT devices deployed. The firm adapts its 2G, 3G and 4G networks around IoT.
Speaking on Tuesday, the telco said it had exceeded its initial rollout plan. Announced in November 2015, the target was to reach 17 urban areas in France – including Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nice, Paris and Strasbourg.
In early 2016, the network was made available in 18 areas, covering 1,300 towns. Orange has also been providing start-ups with a connected objects starter kit so they can make the most of the network.
They’ve been able to develop prototypes that use the LorA network. However, that’s not all. It’s been using a range of other IoT technologies too. These include extending GSM (EC-GSM) and LTE-M coverage.
Related: Digital Catapult rolls out ‘UK’s largest ioT LoRaWAN network’
Big growth for LoRa and IoT
The Internet of Things forms a major part of Orange’s increased focus towards business users. By 2018, it expects to generate 600 million Euros of revenue from its IoT services and products.
Orange said it wants to continue meeting its customers’ requirements by offering the best connectivity solutions, focusing on the type of sensor, speed, coverage and power connection.
“Orange continues to deploy the network to support the projects of its enterprise and municipality customers and partners. By the end of January 2017, Orange’s LoRa network will exist in 120 urban areas – approximately 2,600 towns – offering connectivity both indoors and outdoors,” the firm said in a statement.
“In addition to IoT connectivity strong leadership with new dedicated LoRa network and 2G/4G existing cellular networks upgrades, Orange offers comprehensive services to its enterprise customers ranging from the collection of data from objects and sensors to their processing and delivery, through its Datavenue line of services.
“The goal is to meet all of its (Orange’s) customers’ requirements by offering appropriate connectivity solutions.”