The Netherlands Deploys Nationwide LoRa Network for IoT

In the Netherlands, for the first time, an entire country has deployed an IoT network. The KPN LoRa network has been established over the past eight months and it is now available outdoors throughout the Netherlands.

The existence of the LoRa network makes it simple to develop smart applications and to optimize processes and services. KPN has already contracted 1.5 million devices that will be connected to the LoRa network. This number is expected to grow rapidly now that the network is available in the whole of the Netherlands. In the months ahead, KPN will further optimize the LoRa network by condensing the network; the much-requested localization functionality will become available too.

“Last year we identified an increasing demand for low-power network technology for Internet of Things applications. We are responding to this by choosing LoRa, so millions of devices can be connected to the internet in a cost-effective manner,” said Joost Farwerck, COO and member of the Board of Management, KPN. “In less than a year KPN has implemented a network that allows us to satisfy this market demand.”

The first IoT applications are already connected to the network and numerous proofs of concept are being tested. For example, at Schiphol Airport, LoRa is being tested in logistical processes such as baggage handling and for facility services. An experiment is being carried out at Utrecht Central station that allows LoRa to monitor rail switches, and depth sounders at the port of Rotterdam have been fitted with devices to connect them to the IoT network. KPN expects LoRa applications for consumers to become more widely available in the course of this year.

As more and more countries get online, this will become a global network, but for now, this is a powerful first step.