Two UK LoRa initiatives have partnered to create what claims to be the country’s largest LoRaWAN network.
Things Connected, which aims to drive LPWAN awareness and usage by UK businesses, and The Things Network (TTN), a Netherlands-based initiative that recruits companies and institutions to effectively build and operate crowdsourced LoRa networks around the world, together boast 400 base stations across the country.
As well as ramping up network availability, the partnership will also provide broader access to innovation programmes designed to help entrepreneurs get their LoRa-based LPWAN services off the ground. Things Connected currently offers schemes in three regions: London, the North-East, and Northern Ireland, while TTN has 63 “communities” in the UK, with more than 700 members.
Things Connected is part of Digital Catapult, which advocates for the adoption of advanced digital technologies by UK companies in a bid to improve their competitiveness.
Peter Karney, Head of Product Innovation, Digital Catapult said: “LPWAN connectivity will be the driving force behind the uptake of IoT, bringing new companies and services to market. This partnership enables us to expand and accelerate UK innovation.”
Wienke Giezeman from TTN said: “UK innovators can now deploy LoRaWAN solutions more seamlessly across the region and fuel further collaboration to benefit the UK economy. Companies too will also be able to demonstrate their services globally, with TTN nodes available across the six continents.”