Singapore-based Unabiz, owner of the Sigfox technology, has announced a deal with Shenzhen Kaifa Technology (KAIFA) to jointly sell Sigfox-based smart meters in global markets, and also to develop hybrid Sigfox and LoRa meters for certain markets. The deal is with the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) division of the China-based firm, KAIFA Metering; they have already sold a Sigfox based solution into Brazilian water and sewerage services supplier Iguá Saneamento via local Sigfox operator WND.
Iguá Saneamento is to deploy 120,000 Sigfox-based smart water meters on WND’s network in Brazil. Unabiz and KAIFA said they will focus on Europe, the Middle East, and Central and South America. A press statement suggested the new “strategic partnership” will lean into Unabiz as the production house, specialising in “bespoke IoT solutions” running both non-cellular and cellular IoT technologies, and into KAIFA for its industrial knowhow in the metering market. KAIFA called it a “transformative endeavour”.
Henry Chan, global sales director at KAIFA, said: “By leveraging Unabiz’s expertise in bespoke IoT solutions, and the tremendous potential for energy-efficiency enabled by the Sigfox technology, we aim to bring to the market high-quality advanced water metering solutions that are not only accurate and reliable but also cost-competitive, scalable, and environmentally friendly to the water metering sector.”
Loic Barrancourt, chief commercial officer at Unabiz , said: “We are excited… to not only drive efficiency but also promote sustainability, making a positive impact on communities worldwide. KAIFA’s quality excellence and Unabiz’s design capabilities are key ingredients to bringing an integrated fit-for-purpose solution to end customers to enable massive IoT. We look forward to… bring a new era of efficiency and sustainability in… water resource management.”
Jose Almeida, deputy chief executive at WND Brazil, said: “Sigfox’s energy-efficient design aligns with Iguá Saneamento’s commitment to sustainability. Reduced power consumption and extended device lifecycles ultimately contribute to a greener and more eco-conscious future. We are certain the collaboration between Unabiz and KAIFA will pave the way for smarter, more sustainable solutions in water resource management across the globe.”
Unabiz joined the LoRa Alliance in July as a contributing member. The French-born ultra-narrowband IoT network tech – once (long ago) the darling of the European IoT startup scene, until its money-shredding decline and desperate fire-sale at the start of 2022 – has been shepherded into the rival LoRaWAN camp by its new parent, the IoT bravehearts at Singapore-based Unabiz, ably assisted by LoRaWAN old boy Rémi Lorrain.
The company said last week it has sold a large-scale LoRaWAN network to a major shopping mall in the northeast of Singapore. NEX, a seven-storey shopping mall at the Serangoon bus station, located where the city-state’s Northeast and Circle metro lines cross, has commissioned Unabiz to connect its HVAC system to monitor indoor heating and ventilation, and to save on energy consumption, carbon emissions, and heating/cooling bills.
WND, which runs Sigfox networks across the Latin America region, announced last week it had secured fresh capital funds from Luis Javier Castro, the founder of local private equity firm Mesoamerica Investments. WND called the investment a “milestone” which “reinforces its leadership in the IoT market”. Its Sigfox network in Mexico covers a “significant part” of the local population, it said.
