IoT America aims to provide turnkey IoT offering for rural use cases
A new, Texas-based startup has launched managed internet of things services aimed at rural America, with its first project in Alabama.
Internet of Things America says that it will be partnering with rural wireless and broadband providers, resellers and systems integrators to offer sensor connectivity and applications for use cases including farming, ranching, oil and gas, and smart city offerings in rural areas.
“The challenge of available arable farmland, limited water resources and sustainability coupled
with pricing pressures is the reality of farming and ranching today,” said CEO Dan Croft in a statement. “Yields must continuously improve and efficiencies maximized to ensure we can feed the global population which is expected to reach 9+ billion people by 2050.”
IoT America says that its goal is to simplify IoT for end users through “managing all aspects of IoT enablement, offering a vetted solutions catalog, installation services and ongoing maintenance and monitoring.”
The company’s first public project is an IoT/Wi-Fi network deployment in 48 counties in Alabama, in partnership with its customer NxGen Communications. IoT America said that the two companies “will be deploying [low-power wide area network] connectivity and provide rural Wi-Fi networks throughout 48 counties in Alabama, enabling sensor based IoT solutions to deliver the efficiencies of AgTech and smart towns for the citizens, farms and ranches of Alabama.”
“With the Internet being a necessity for business and family life, NxGen will deliver Wi-Fi connectivity over its RURBAN network,” said Gary Brown, VP of business development for NxGen, in a statement.
IoT America was founded by Croft, who mostly recently served as CEO and president of Mission Critical Wireless and is also a former vice president at U.S. Cellular; President Pete DeNagy, whose background includes serving as president of tech consultancy Accomence Advisors and a stint as GM for enterprise mobile enablement at Samsung; and CFO Amy Alost, whose finance and investment background includes serving as a VP for Hudson Advisors and in senior leadership positions at Anderson Tax and Capital Analytics.
DeNagy described IoT America’s offering as IoT-as-a-service, a turnkey offering for farmers, ranchers and others in rural communities who are seeking to adopt IoT technology. He said that where cellular coverage is available, the company will be able to utilize narrowband IoT, CatM1, LTE, 2G or 3G for sensor connectivity.
“Where there is no connectivity, which is the bulk of rural America, we’re going to be putting in LPWAN technology,” DeNagy said. He said that LoRaWAN has a roughly 10-kilometer range, and the company will be able to mount its equipment, for example, on a farmhouse and cover about 75,000 acres.
The company incorporated last fall and less than a year later, has its first deployment in the works.
“We’ve been in stealth mode, but we’ve been getting stuff done,” said DeNagy.
