KPN, Orange, Swisscom and Foxconn have helped back Internet of Things player Actility to the tune of $25 million (€22.2 million), as it looks to develop its open standard IoT network solution ThingPark.
The operators are part of the Ginko Ventures investment group that has made the pledge.
ThingPark is a Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) radio network based on the LoRaWAN standard. Acility said the platform is the first interoperable LoRaWAN platform to support every use case of the IoT, using minimal power and resources, and offering long ranges.
Actility is already working with Swisscom on low-powered IoT networks in Zurich and Geneva.
Olivier Hersent, Founder, CEO and CTO, Actility, said: “Today’s wireless technologies are not optimised for IoT applications which require sensors to be low power and able to run on a battery with very little maintenance. ThingPark provides the technology to connect both long range and low power sensors over unlicensed ISM band spectrum, allowing low cost and fast roll-out of IoT networks for a wide range of IoT applications.”
He added: “After the rise of personal connected objects such as consumer wearable devices, we are now witnessing the emergence of a second wave: managed connected objects. Managed connected objects are creating a more efficient, more sustainable world. With a ubiquitous and cost-effective IoT network in place, utilities for instance will be able to accelerate their smart-metering plans, to optimise the filling of fuel tanks, to increase the use of renewable energy by dynamically controlling thermostats.
“We have the technology to achieve a paradigm shift in remote monitoring and management – think of instant fire or leak detection, or prevention of loss of valuable equipment using smart tracking. Ubiquitous IoT will have a huge impact in agriculture and other key sectors of the economy.”
Pierre Louette, Orange’s Deputy CEO, commented: “The Internet of Things is an extremely promising new market and it is important for Orange to support the start-ups and developers who are currently working on services that will become part of our future.”