The Nordic operator is working with Wireless Trondheim to open the IoT lab in early 2018
Norwegian telecom operator Telenor and Wireless Trondheim have announced a joint initiative to open a new IoT lab in the city of Trondheim, in Norway. The two partners said the IoT ProtoLab will be open to startups, developers and students looking to prototype IoT products and services.
The IoT ProtoLab, which is expected to launch operations in early 2018, will focus on next generation Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technologies and applications. It will also enable the exchange of data, sharing of experiences and collaboration with ongoing projects at the Telenor-NTNU AI-Lab.
“The people and companies shaping tomorrow’s society are the ones that are able to utilize and apply data in new ways. Telenor is committed to help build these capabilities in Norway. The IoT ProtoLab will be a place for students, entrepreneurs and startups to experiment and prototype solutions using next-generation IoT technologies,” said Sigve Brekke, president and CEO of the Telenor Group.
To support the piloting and testing of IoT services in the city of Trondheim, Wireless Trondheim has enabled a city-wide IoT testbed and connected to Telenor’s non-commercial offering, Start IoT. This provides access to IoT devices, a physical LPWA pilot network and a backend system, which enables prototyping and developing of IoT services at a relatively low cost. Wireless Trondheim will be responsible for the setup and the daily operation of the IoT ProtoLab.
“Our mission at Wireless Trondheim is to enable students, entrepreneurs and startups to experiment and prototype solutions using next-generation IoT technologies. By coupling our specialist competence with companies like Telenor, we can create real impact and help make new smart products and services for the future,” said Thomas Ulleberg, manager of Wireless Trondheim.
Telenor is currently working to develop and launch a next-generation IoT network in several Norwegian cities. The company is currently carrying out a pilot of this IoT network in Trondheim, Oslo and Tromsø. This IoT network is based on LoRaWAN technology but other network technologies may also be included, such as the 2G, 3G, 4G, NB-IoT and eMTC standards, the Nordic telco said. Currently, more than a million devices are already connected to Telenor’s mobile network in Norway.
