The Sigfox IoT network currently reaches 30 countries
French low power wide area network (LPWAN) operator Sigfox has selected LuxCarta to provide its latest countrywide geodata data sets.
LuxCarta has provided geodata for more than 50 countries in the past two years in support of the operator’s global network buildout.
“LuxCarta’s Planner data sets, in particular its clutter and PopMaps products, are the perfect input to our design processes and RF planning software,’’ said Michaël Cantineau, head of Global Network Solutions for Sigfox. “We trust the accuracy of their products and appreciate the global archive they have of data readily available to meet our requirements.”
LuxCarta is a provider of geodata – including terrain data, clutter/land use and 3D building polygons – used by engineers in RF planning software to deploy and optimize their networks.
LuxCarta’s PopMaps are relevant for operators and vendors deploying IoT/LPWA technology that do not have an existing network or data statistics to determine where to expect their traffic demand. PopMaps assign population data from census or other available sources to clutter products that segment the Earth’s surface into land use categories.
Sigfox’s global network is available today in 30 countries representing a population of 486 million people, and is scheduled to cover 60 countries by 2018.
French national railway company implements Watson Internet of Things on IBM Cloud
In related IoT news, IBM announced that French Railways operator SNCF is using IBM Watson Internet of Things (IoT) on IBM Cloud to improve customer experiences and operational efficiency, as well as enhance rail safety to its 13.5 million daily passengers.
With IBM’s cloud-based Watson IoT Platform, SNCF is connecting its entire rail system – trains, railroad tracks and train stations – to gather insights from real-time information on data. These insights will allow SNCF to manage its equipment and thus improve quality, security and availability of its trains.
“Today the IoT is entering a momentous stage in the railway sector’s history. SNCF’s involvement with the IoT rests on three core principles. It must have a strong operational focus by digitalizing the business lines processes and cover the following three pillars: cybersecurity by design, “platform as a service” deployment model, the leveraging of Big Data for decision support,” Raphaël Viard, CTO e.SNCF, said.
SNCF is currently developing specialized industrial sensors which are being installed on tracks and trains. These sensors will securely send tens of thousands of data points to the IBM Watson IoT Platform on IBM Cloud all in real-time.
