While there are many dimensions and challenges on the path to success in the brave new IoT world, one thing is for certain: without coverage there is no connectivity, and without connecting things there is no value particularly in distributed IoT deployments.
There are multitude network types available to connect things, each with their advantages and disadvantages. Dave Kjendal, CTO at Senet, a company delivering low cost, long distance, long range connectivity through Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs), is highly focused on cracking the code for IoT networking by building what may be the only publicly available LPWAN network service in North America, solving for gaps in connectivity.
“We’ve built not only a growing national LPWAN network including PoPS (Points-of-Presence) throughout the US, we’ve added software that makes the engineering, provisioning and management of IoT networks using a star network topology, with every node connected to a base station that is connect to the network,” Kjendal explained.
“What we found in speaking with many IoT providers and the business that they serve is that there is no one solution that fits all use cases – IoT is really the ultimate ecosystem, with connectivity, applications, hardware, sensors, and systems of all kinds. We engineered our LPWAN network and controls in an open fashion so we can easily support hybrid models, supporting a rural deployment, for example, in a different way than we would one in a more network dense region.”
It’s a bold move by Senet to build an actual LoRaWAN network, investing in PoPs using a time proven strategy to build out interconnections between local and long-range networks as customers require them, based on their footprint. This is how ISPs built way back in the way back, and creating an economic business model through real-world business cases followed by successful deployments seems to be working for Senet.
A good example is Senet’s Enertrac fuel delivery solution, which is up and running and delivering the data that validates the notion that IoT really can transform businesses. The technology and network built and operated by Senet is designed to connect low-cost, battery-operated sensors over long distances in challenging environments that were previously too expensive to connect providing a significant reduction in total cost of ownership over similar cellular solutions for home heating fuels dealers .
Senet was awarded the 2016 Manufacturer of the Year, Small–and-Medium Enterprise by the Frost & Sullivan Manufacturing Leadership Council for its IoT technology leadership based on the Enertrac deployment, including for the significant cost savings enjoyed by Enertrac with a vastly improved propane delivery solution enhanced with sensors and a LoRa® based connectivity approach. Over 100 U.S. cities were included in one of the largest LoRa roll outs in history.
“No IoT company can succeed alone,” Kjendal said. “That’s why we are very active in the LoRa Alliance, and why we established our own platform for IoT developers.”
Senet’s Foundry offers a suite of training, development tools, and technical consulting services for leveraging LoRa® technology, enabling faster development and go-to-market programs, Kjendal explained.
LPWANs are a different beast than traditional networks, making it possible to connect “things” over very long ranges (approximately 15 miles) while delivering very long battery power life (approximately 10 years).
“We’re all very aware of the potential of the IoT to produce incredible value for businesses but only when we mature network technologies that make it possible to run systems at a predictable low cost, using low power, and doing so securely,” Kjendal said. “The Senet network has distinct advantages over cellular, Wi-Fi, and other technologies which is driving our company’s growth and accelerating the development of our unique, national network.”
The LoRa Alliance, of which Senet is an active contributor, is one of the fastest growing Internet of Things (IoT) alliances, having gained over 330 members since March 2015. The organization says over 60,000 people are working on LoRaWAN solutions, with nationwide deployment plans publicly announced in 17 countries, and live networks operating in more than 120 cities in the world.
There have been more than 8,000 downloads of the open LoRaWAN specification for secure, carrier-grade low power wide area networks, with companies like Senet in other countries including KPN, SK Telecom and Orange announcing deployments and milestones continuously with the pace picking up this year.
"The LoRa Alliance is expanding its membership on a global scale and now the reach of the Alliance touches almost all continents in less than 18 months," said Geoff Mulligan, chairman of the LoRa Alliance. "Our vision of an open standard for low power, carrier-grade IoT connectivity and an open business model ensures that as a global organization there is the inherent scope for interoperability and roaming between networks on a global scale.”
Will Senet take their solution from the U.S. into global markets?
“We know we have an extremely solid, tested and proven approach that works and scales,” Kjendal said. “We’re pragmatists on the one hand, always working hard to ensure what we provide works, and delivers real business benefits, including economics associated with much more efficient operations, as is the case with Enertrac. We’re enthusiasts on the other hand, so excited by the response to our network and services that we’d love to reach beyond the U.S. should we find the ideal partners. It takes an ecosystem, and we’re happy to be part of ecosystems like LoRa Alliance so we can influence the standards and protocols that will help everybody accelerate in this very exciting space.”
Edited by
Ken Briodagh
