Mobile operators may dream of running the internet of things (IoT) entirely on their LTE networks, generating new revenues from their 4G spectrum, but the real picture will be far more fragmented.
The M2M market from which IoT springs has always relied heavily on dedicated networks, providing security and specific functionality for individual verticals, and often run by the industrial groups themselves. That thinking is behind growing interest in building specialist, optimized networks to carry IoT services, using ‘ultra-narrowband’ (UNB) technology.
Sigfox has used this technology, in unlicensed bands, to create a dedicated IoT network in France, and is now partnering with UK telco infrastructure company Arqiva to extend its model across the Channel. Arqiva says this will provide ‘nationwide low power connectivity for the first time’. This comes just weeks after another UK venture, Senaptic, announced plans to use UNB to build specialized, ‘cellco-free’ IoT networks for specific customers and segments.
Arqiva has been extending its core business in operating cell and broadcast towers, with activities in growth areas such as small cell infrastructure and Wi-Fi hotspots. This sees it building a broad infrastructure platform covering all kinds of communications sites, and the deal with Sigfox could add vertical and industrial service providers to its mix.
Arquiva will build and run a national IoT network, initially rolling out the UNB technology in 10 cities – London, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield. It will use technology licensed from Sigfox and its system will be connected to the French firm’s own networks. These are currently deployed in France, the Netherlands and Spain, and in individual cities elsewhere, such as Moscow and Munich. Sigfox took a ‘build and they will come’ approach in its home country, but elsewhere is mainly working through partners like Arqiva, as well as creating a global distribution channel for complaint devices, to encourage further uptake.
As at Senaptic, Arqiva’s key target application is the smart city, although the platform could be suited to many segments and enterprises, it said. UNB can run in any unlicensed ISM spectrum such as 2.4GHz, 433MHz and 900MHz, though operators are tending to use the lower frequencies rather than the congested WiFi bands. They cannot claim the high security of a licensed, private IoT spectrum, but argue that their networks are designed specifically for this market, unlike LTE or WiFi, and can run in underused frequencies to minimize interference risk.
Arqiva said in its statement: ‘Sigfox’s ultra-narrowband technology is particularly suited to connecting objects over long distances where a long battery life and low cost are required. By becoming the Sigfox Network Operator in the UK, Arqiva has strengthened its position as a leading provider of machine-to-machine connectivity services.’
Wendy McMillan, managing director of smart metering and M2M solutions at the company, said: ‘We already run satellite, WiFi, and long range radio networks, providing full managed services where required. Our smart metering communications service, connecting 10m homes using long range radio technology, will be one of the UK’s largest machine-to-machine deployments.’
Rodolphe Baronnet-Frug’s, VP of network and business development at Sigfox, said in a statement: ‘According to some forecasts, there will be 50bn connected devices worldwide by 2020, but for this to become a reality, both cost and energy use will have to come down.’
Another UK company, Neul, is working on creating a non-cellco, ultra-low power wireless network for IoT applications. It has worked on trials with BT and could support specialist services for mobile operators or directly for enterprises. It has its own technology, Weightless, another indicator of the push for networks that are developed specifically for the requirements of millions of low energy gadgets. The challenge for the cellcos now is to try to ensure they have a powerful role in the value chain, even in markets where LTE does not prove to be a dominant solution.