Thinxtra announced today that it has started the deployment of the live SIGFOX public network, with installations of base stations and antennas on top of the tallest buildings in Australia: Sydney Tower Eye and Melbourne Eureka Tower. These two prime locations together with just six other installations provide good initial SIGFOX coverage for the two cities’ CBDs.
SIGFOX coverage in Sydney and Melbourne (click for higher resolution images)
red = quality signal for deep indoor connection,
green = great signal for indoor connection,
purple = signal for outdoor connection.
Loic Barancourt, CEO of Thinxtra: “With these installations we have reached one of our first milestones for rolling out the nationwide public networks in Australia and New Zealand. We chose these 2 prime sites to showcase the fantastic range (20km+) you can get with SIGFOX. We will cover 85% of the population within the next 18 months, starting with covering 30% of the ANZ population by the end of 2016.”
Beyond setting up base stations on high location points, Thinxtra is already discussing deployment opportunities to support local Internet of Things projects with schools, universities and local councils in Australia and New Zealand.
Mr Barancourt says the IoT is already having a significant impact in many industries. “The solutions previously available are based on traditional telecommunications technology that has been adapted for IoT-type use. This works – but it is expensive to connect to and very power hungry. The SIGFOX technology Thinxtra is rolling out in New Zealand and Australia makes connecting to the IoT viable for a great many more applications.”
“We have already identified a huge demand for innovative applications in sectors including asset tracking for industries, smart metering for utilities, smart irrigation and cattle tracking for agriculture, as well as a wide range of smart city solutions,” says Mr Barancourt.
“As the provider of the world’s leading LPWAN* IoT connectivity solution, our role is to help make these exciting opportunities a reality.”
If your council, university or business would like to take part in the IoT revolution (and to ensure your area is covered in the initial SIGFOX rollout), please contact the Thinxtra deployment team at [email protected].
About Thinxtra
Thinxtra is the exclusive SIGFOX network operator for Australia and New Zealand. Thinxtra was founded by IoT experts who share the same passion and expertise: connecting things to improve business processes and people’s lives. Thinxtra is backed by NZX-listed high-tech company Rakon Limited, which has a history of innovation in communications technology going back some 50 years. Thinxtra is empowering Australia and New Zealand’s Internet of Things with SIGFOX world-leading LPWAN* connectivity as well as building a full ecosystem of IoT solutions and services to enable the non-connected to connect, to increase productivity, accelerate decision making, improve quality of service or simply solve problems in an economic and connected manner.
Visit library.web.thinxtra.com / www.sigfox.com and follow us on Twitter @Thinxtra.
Thinxtra Press Contact:
Renald Gallis – VP Marketing & Ecosystem
[email protected]
+61 404 894 960
*About LPWAN technology
The majority of IoT-connected devices do not need to send huge data loads: they can function perfectly well using ultra narrow band technology. This type of solution can be set up and operated for as little as one-tenth of the cost of using a 3G/4G device, and because they are only “on” when they are transmitting, power demand is negligible. The significantly lower set-up and running costs make this technology a viable proposition for a great many more possible applications than are currently connected. The SIGFOX network has been designed with the IoT in mind. Typically, it is based on antennae and base station infrastructure that is completely independent of existing networks. SIGFOX is the only company rolling out a global network fully dedicated to connected objects.
The SIGFOX network provides:
-Low energy consumption (perfect for battery powered devices)
-Long range (reducing network and subscription costs)
-Ease of use (no pairing, simple set-up)
-Security and reliability
