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Global connectivity provider SIGFOX, together with partners POST Luxembourg and RMS.lu, has announced that Luxembourg is the eighth country to deploy its nationwide Internet of Things (IoT) network.
With a population just over 500,000, Luxembourg joins Portugal, Belgium and Denmark—where deployments were announced earlier this year—alongside existing networks in France, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.
SIGFOX’s ultra narrowband (UNB) technology, working alongside high-bandwidth cellular systems, enables cost-effective, two-way transmission of small data packets across long distances, making it especially well suited to IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. The cities of Ettelbruck and Luxembourg City already have dedicated IoT coverage, reaching about 30% of the country’s population. SIGFOX and its partners expect nationwide coverage to be in place by the end of the year.
Jean-Marie Spaus, director of POST Telecom S.A., described how POST Telecom and its partners will collaborate with local businesses and developers to expand Luxembourg’s IoT ecosystem. He said the SIGFOX network complements existing wireless broadband services and enables efficient, low-cost connectivity for devices that send small, intermittent messages on an as-needed basis.
Rodolphe Baronnet-Fruges, SIGFOX’s EVP of networks and operators, noted that the deployment in Luxembourg highlights the benefits SIGFOX brings to entrepreneurial providers such as RMS.lu and to established broadband cellular operators. He described Luxembourg as one of the more advanced countries in the IoT space and viewed the deployment as meaningful recognition of SIGFOX’s approach.
Separately, research from Juniper Research projects the total number of IoT-connected devices will grow to 38.5 billion by 2020, up from approximately 13.4 billion today. Juniper anticipates much of this growth will come from industrial and public services sectors, where companies like Michelin and John Deere are shifting toward service-based business models by leveraging IoT technologies.