SIGFOX has deployed a network of long-range base stations that communicate with wireless sensors at ranges of thousands of meters. Through this network, the wireless Internet of Things (IoT) becomes viable for many applications in civil engineering, including monitoring integrity of structures, understanding traffic flow and understanding pollution. Sensors relay the data to the base stations at low cost, where it is posted in the cloud for data analysis.
In August 25, 2016 – SIGFOX, the world’s leading provider of dedicated communications service for the Internet of Things (IoT), WND, the company that is extending SIGFOX’s network across Latin America, and Phaxsi Solutions announced the IoT network’s deployment in Colombia. The alliance received an initial investment of $1.8 million this year to promote the IoT as a tool for strengthening Colombia’s economic development.
SIGFOX’s rapidly growing global network provides simple, reliable, energy-efficient and cost-effective connectivity for billions of objects that communicate small messages to the cloud, and which make up the vast majority of IoT use cases. With its unique offer, SIGFOX enables businesses to add new services with their products, allowing them to expand their business models and grow revenue.
In view of the low data rates used for IoT connections, the SIGFOX network employs Ultra-Narrow Band, UNB technology. This enables very low transmitter power levels to be used while still being able to maintain a robust data connection.
The SIGFOX radio link uses unlicensed ISM radio bands. The exact frequencies can vary according to national regulations, but in Europe the 868MHz band is widely used and in the US it is 915MHz.
The density of the cells in the SIGFOX network is based on an average range of about 30-50km in rural areas and in urban areas where there are usually more obstructions and noise is greater the range may be reduced to between 3 and 10km. Distances can be much higher for outdoor nodes where SIGFOX states line of sight messages could travel over 1000km.
The overall SIGFOX network topology has been designed to provide a scalable, high-capacity network, with very low energy consumption, while maintaining a simple and easy to rollout star-based cell infrastructure.
Following deployment of SIGFOX’s dedicated, bidirectional IoT network in Brazil and Mexico earlier this year, Colombia becomes the third Latin American nation to roll out the global network and the 24th globally. With Brazil and Mexico, Colombia’s deployment, which has already begun, will extend SIGFOX coverage to 57 percent of Latin America’s territory and 60 percent of its population. The company, which also recently announced deployments in Singapore and Taiwan as part of its mission of building a truly global, seamless IoT network, has set a goal of deploying in 30 countries in 2016.
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