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SIGFOX IoT Network Goes to San Francisco

SIGFOX IoT Network Goes to San Francisco

The City of San Francisco and SIGFOX announced partnership for a pilot deployment of a dedicated Internet of Things(IoT) network that will provide low-cost, energy-efficient and two-way connectivity for smart city applications and other business verticals. Under the agreement, SIGFOX will receive access to the City property to mount antennas in order to provide network access to the City, while the Department of Technology will install the antennas as SIGFOX maintains the network.

According to SIGFOX, its technology which is already FCC certified, is currently operating or being deployed in 10 European countries and registers over 5 million objects in its network. San Francisco is the first of 10 U.S. cities in which SIGFOX will deploy its network by the first quarter of next year, said the company.

The Internet of Things links physical objects embedded with sensors and actuators to the Internet. It allows the “things” to exchange data and communicate with each other, allowing a smoke alarm to send a text when the alarm goes off or when it has a low battery; a tracker to locate a stolen bicycle; a sensor placed on a fire hydrant to alert authorities when a leak is detected. The types of applications—ranging from agriculture, connected health, security or logistics—that can benefit from the IoT is limitless.

Miguel A. Gamiño Jr., San Francisco’s chief information officer and executive director of the Department of Technology
This new network reinforces San Francisco’s commitment to attracting startups and established companies in the emerging IoT space. It also allows the City to offer residents innovative new services and positions San Francisco as the leading smart city in the U.S.

Allen Proithis, President of SIGFOX North America
If the last 10 years of technology development were about making it easier for companies and people to exchange information with one another—Google, Skype, Dropbox, and so on—the next 10 years will be about making it possible, cost effective and easy for the unconnected physical world to transmit data to the Internet.

Image by Rich Niewiroski Jr. (http://www.projectrich.com/gallery) [CC BY 2.5 or Attribution], via Wikimedia Commons

Author

Ray is a news editor at The Fast Mode, bringing with him more than 10 years of experience in the wireless industry.

For tips and feedback, email Ray at ray.sharma(at)thefastmode.com, or reach him on LinkedIn @raysharma10, Facebook @1RaySharma

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