The U.K.-based Weightless SIG is geared up for CTIA SuperMobility 2016 this week, saying it will be showing off the latest Weightless-P hardware with vendor partner Antenova, and a limited number of Weightless-P SDKs are being made available to developers in an offer specific to the show.
The hardware, dubbed the Weightless Ignition Pack, provides Weightless-P network connectivity out of the box. The SIG has been working for more than two years on the technology that promises to significantly move the low power wide area networking (LPWAN) game forward, according to Fabien Petitgrand, technical representative for the Weightless SIG.
According to Petitgrand, the Weightless Ignition Pack includes hardware and a full Weightless-P software protocol stack to deliver substantial improvements and competitive advantages over existing Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity options.
There are plenty of IoT options out there, too, with players like Sigfox, Ingenu, LoRa and Senet. Wireless operators like Verizon and AT&T are also in the midst of developing cellular-based technologies specifically for IoT. The Weightless SIG has said that what it’s bringing online will transform the LPWAN space by providing the first “clean slate” open standard designed from the ground up for both public and private IoT deployments.
The Weightless Ignition Pack, which carries a list price of $1,500, will be made available as part of a pre-launch offer on the Weightless website with a limited number offered to Weightless developers free of charge. The packs include a Weightless-P base station, end device modules, antennas, a full Weightless-P protocol stack for the base station, end device and host as well as all necessary cabling. The pack will enable a Weightless-P IoT network to be deployed “out of the box,” according to Weightless SIG.
“We are delighted to see Weightless-P take this critical step forward in its evolution with hardware coming soon to the development community,” William Webb, CEO of the Weightless SIG, said in a press release. “The Weightless SIG is more than simply an open standards body, it is a strong and vibrant global community focused on LPWAN technology. We are delighted to be partnering with Antenova who bring world class antenna technology and capability to the Weightless ecosystem.”
The Weightless SIG argues that cellular-based IoT technologies are sub-optimal when it comes to cost and energy consumption for the majority of IoT applications. Legacy telephony-based technologies will satisfy user requirements that can tolerate higher costs and where devices have external power, but they can’t meet the low cost and energy consumption characteristics of efficient “clean slate” design LPWAN alternatives, according to the Weightless SIG.
The group said it’s critical that the technology is an open global standard rather than a proprietary technology in order to guarantee low cost and low risk and to maximize user choice and ongoing innovation.
For more:
- see the press release
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