Russian cellco MegaFon has signed an agreement with the Minister of Information & Communications of the Republic of Tatarstan to establish a test area for NB-IoT smart housing applications in Innopolis – a completely new-build, high-tech city in the region. Director of the Volga branch of MegaFon, Vladimir Karpushkin, said: ‘For us it is an opportunity to create a pilot area for the country’s first comprehensive solution in the field of Construction and Housing on the basis of NB-IoT standards, and demonstrate its effectiveness.’
Elsewhere in the Federation, Tele2 Russia and Russian Railways have tested M2M solutions for automated railway station/train systems using the cellco’s ‘Skylink’ LTE-450 network, ComNews reported. M2M solutions enable video to be transmitted over the LTE-450 network via cameras mounted on the locomotive, controlled via remote management systems implemented on the basis of Siemens technology for applications such as automated/remote locomotive shunting.
In Belgium, network operator Proximus and Siradel have renewed their collaboration on LoRaWAN infrastructure, which began in 2015 when Proximus picked Siradel as a key partner for its national LoRaWAN network rollout, beginning in August that year. Siradel’s planning tool, ‘S_IoT’ was ‘crucial’ in the November 2015 commercial launch of the network, which subsequently passed 50% population coverage, according to Proximus’ LoRa Programme Manager Alex Thomas, who added that by end-2017 work will be carried out on network densification to achieve superior indoor and deep-indoor coverage. The Proximus LoRa network also extends into Luxembourg.
Finnish network operator DNA has partnered Ericsson, Enermix and UnSeen Technologies to launch an NB-IoT application which measures indoor air condition, provided to customers via the Talotohtori cloud-based property management service. The partners have run a pilot project with retail chain Kesko with connected sensors measuring air pressure and temperature.
In Taiwan, cellco Far EasTone has begun an NB-IoT 700MHz trial with Ericsson for smart parking applications for basement garages, where parking spaces are equipped with wireless sensors enabling drivers to find available spaces via a smartphone app.
In Tunisia, Actility and North African network systems integrator GET Wireless have teamed up to develop a large scale IoT communications network based on LoRaWAN technology and powered by Actility’s ThingPark platform. GET Wireless aims to create a platform to support applications ranging from smart grids to waste management and e-health.
At the GSMA ‘Mobile 360 – Privacy & Security’ event, Nikolaos Isaris, deputy head of future networks/IoT at the European Commission (EC), split opinions in a panel session when he outlined EC plans to create a security and privacy certification framework for IoT, Mobile World Live reported. Isaris explained the EC is currently assessing the ramifications of establishing a certification framework, which may be accompanied by a labelling programme covering not just IoT, but all ICT services and products. Results of the assessment will be revealed by the end of 2017, the report added.
Satellite operator Iridium Communications is launching an IoT device under the Iridium Edge banner, enabling the addition of satellite connectivity for cellular-based applications, or alternatively to be used as a fixed location satellite-based monitoring device. The company says that the device – containing an Iridium modem and certified antenna – enables connectivity to be extended to remote regions or countries that were previously difficult for clients to access. Iridium Edge has already been approved for use in markets including the US, Canada, Europe and Australia, with additional markets being lined up. Iridium Edge is fully compatible with the original Iridium constellation as well as Iridium’s next-generation constellation, Iridium NEXT.
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