Tele2 said it planned to build a network based on the Long Range (LoRa) standard in Greater Gothenburg to connect low power devices as part of the Internet of Things (IoT).
The operator, which has already indicated that it has global ambitions for future machine-to-machine (M2M) and IoT services, said the network would be up and running from the third quarter of 2016. Tele2 added that the IoT network would "open up new commercial and technical opportunities that have previously not been possible" for applications and devices that require lower bandwidth and will also cost much less than today's traditional cellular devices.
It said the network -- which will be built in collaboration with IoT and telecoms networks specialist TalkPool -- will give Tele2, its customers and partners the chance to test, use and develop future business models and applications within the IoT.
Rami Avidan, managing director of Tele2 IoT, said the company is convinced that its customers will need a wide range of new technologies in the IoT field.
"At Tele2, we want to give them the opportunity to use as many of these new technologies as possible in ways that are both simple and flexible. This launch is a step in that direction," Avidan said.
Tele2's other IoT activities include a partnership with Sisteer in France; a partnership with M2M and IoT specialist Hexaware; an M2M/IoT cooperation with Telit Communications; and a partnership with Jasper Wireless for the development of an M2M and IoT platform.
Proprietary IoT technologies such as LoRaWAN (the standard supported by the LoRa Alliance), Sigfox, Ingenu's RPMA and Silver Spring Networks are increasingly being pitted against each other as rivals in the area of IoT connectivity now dubbed low power wide area networks (LPWAN), with cellular options such as NB-IoT held up as the preferred alternative for mobile operators in the longer term.
For more:
- see this Tele2 release
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