Sigfox signed up a high-profile partner in the form of Atari, which is moving back into the hardware market with an agreement to produce a range of Internet of Things (IoT) products that will connect to the Sigfox low power wide area (LPWA) network.
The France-based IoT company said Atari will manufacture devices ranging from the very simple through to the highly sophisticated, with an initial focus on categories including home, pets, lifestyle and safety. A common theme will be providing consumers with a simple way of knowing where the devices are and what their status is, Sigfox stated.
Specific details of the devices are still being finalised, and development work is scheduled to begin during 2016. The new products will build on the 7 million devices currently connected to Sigfox IoT networks, which the company said are currently operational or being deployed in 18 countries, and will be a significant step towards Sigfox's goal of establishing a seamless global network that connects a wide range of objects.
The collaboration with U.S.-headquartered Atari could also boost Sigfox's profile in that market, where the company is currently in the process of deploying an IoT network. Sister publication FierceWireless reported that Sigfox's U.S. network runs in the unlicensed 902 MHz band and that the company is stepping up its rollout as it aims to cover 100 cities in the country by the end of the year.
Sigfox CEO Ludovic Le Moan said Atari is a company that "has disruption rooted in their DNA" that was "quick to envision the transformative role that the Internet of Things can play in interactive entertainment."
The marriage of Sigfox's network with Atari's products "will launch a new dimension to gaming, while supporting features that are limited only by the imagination," Le Moan added.
That view was echoed by Atari CEO Fred Chesnais, who said that utilising Sigfox's dedicated IoT network will enable his company to "create amazing products". Atari plans to release new products "to the mass market on a global scale," Chesnais added.
For more:
- see this Atari announcement
- read this FierceWireless article
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