Cassia Networks has announced a partnership with GE Digital, targeting Industrial IoT (IIoT) applications with its long range Bluetooth routers, which can achieve ranges of over 300 meters. If the company succeeds in its mission, it will establish an alternative to current lower power wide area networks (LPWANs) – the LPLAN (low power local area network). Cassia argues that Bluetooth can be far cheaper, and that it has already has a huge market and developer presence. The LPLAN idea, especially if supported by a giant like GE, potentially pushes Bluetooth – usually firmly confined to personal area network distances – into a range of new use cases, especially in the Industrial IoT. Here, the GE deal could open up a…