IoT connectivity specialist Sigfox has announced that it is now operating its network in 36 countries around the world.
At the Sigfox World IoT Expo in Prague this week, the company restated its mission to offer a consistent level of quality and service for low-power, wide area network (LPWAN) connectivity to anywhere in the world – and announced it has recently expanded into four new countries.
It’s achieved this by teaming up with operators in Costa Rica, Croatia, Thailand and Tunisia. In Costa Rica, for example, it has formed partnerships with WND and Cognix to grow its low-cost, low-energy network.
Looking to accumulate know-how with its technologies, the company is also extending its coverage in eastern Europe. In Thailand, meanwhile, it wants to connect hundreds of thousands of objects.
Read more: Sigfox partners with WND-UK to extend IoT network coverage ‘to 95 percent of UK’
Operators are crucial
Operators play a crucial role in accelerating IoT development in their local markets, and they’re working with Sigfox deploy and operate the latest network infrastructure.
These companies have invested almost €100 million to offer access to Sigfox IoT services. Monarch is one of these services, launched this week as the first ‘IoT network-as-a-service offering’, allowing connected devices to recognise and automatically adapt to communications standards in the world without roaming.
Because Monarch allows assets to adapt as they move across borders, it presents a lucrative opportunities for logistics, freight and consumer goods industries, company executives say.
Read more: Thinxtra provides Sigfox connectivity to IoT projects down under
Other milestones
At the event, Sigfox also announced that Irish operator VT has signed a €1 million IoT subscription with Dunraven Systems. The latter designs and develops ultrasonic fuel tank monitors.
And in Australia, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has become a cornerstone investor in local partner Thinxtra.
Meanwhile, Singapore-based partner UnaBiz has developed smart pest control system Ratsense, as previously reported by Internet of Business.
IoT Sweden is using the company’s connectivity to develop intelligent crop-monitoring devices for smart-agriculture. And Germany company BrakeForceOne is partnering to implement IoT sensors in its electronic bikes and scooters.
Read more: Ulster University rolls out Sigfox-based IoT network
Exciting times
Rodolphe Baronnet-Frugès, executive vice president of operators at Sigfox, said that the company was excited to be working with new partners and that the expansion marks a key milestone in its journey to establish a global IoT network.
“We are looking forward to collaborating with our new operators to help their local ecosystems to seamlessly scale IoT solutions wherever the network is present in the world. Together, we’re building a future that will be better to live in,” he said.