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Vodafone preps 5G-MEC to complement on-prem Industry 4.0 play in Europe

Vodafone has put-live its multi-access edge computing (MEC) offer on its LTE and 5G infrastructure in the UK, with data storage and processing functionality from AWS. The 5G-MEC combo is being used in a number of industrial-IoT style pilots in the UK; further MEC...

Released by Arm, buoyed by Bayer – Pelion shifts to the edge and comes of age

IoT device management platform Pelion, previously a unit within Arm, has been spun-out as a standalone business, wholly-owned by the UK chip design firm. At the same time, it has integrated its connectivity management and device management engines, and bundled a new application management...

Solar-powered IoT tracking (no battery) and the ‘three golden rules’ of IoT design

Netherlands-based engineering and design firm SODAQ has invented a solar-powered cellular IoT asset tracker which dispenses with a battery altogether, and runs by harvesting solar energy alone. It is the first of its kind, anywhere, reckons Nordic Semiconductor, which supplied the NB-IoT/LTE-M chip into...

MulteFire intros new certification regime with first devices for unlicensed LTE at 5 GHz

The MulteFire Alliance has launched a certification program for the original 1.0 version of the MulteFire specification. A radio unit and device from Nokia are the first products to go through the process. The alliance said enterprises can now deploy their own private LTE...

Citymesh ups 3.5 GHz holding in North Sea to support 5G wind-farm comms with Nokia

Private network operator and industrial connectivity specialist Citymesh has expanded its spectrum holding in Belgium to 100MHz of the 3.5 GHz band. It will use the new tranche of spectrum to bolster private 5G capacity in the North Sea, including to support the Belgian...

IoT heavyweights eye new app-layer connectivity standard for smart buildings

A number of major IoT outfits are collaborating under the auspices of the Zigbee Alliance to develop a new application-layer connectivity standard for the smart buildings market. Members of the strategy group leading the work include the likes of Legrand, Nordic Semiconductor, NXP Semiconductors,...

Austrian postal service and Australian keg company sign for 100,000 Sigfox trackers

Sigfox has announced deals with Austrian logistics and postal provider Austrian Post and Australian keg rental provider Konvoy Group, via local Sigfox operators Heliot and Thinxtra, respectively. Between them, the deals are worth around 100,000 connections by the end of 2020, reckons Sigfox. The French...

Helsinki Hospital preps 5G ‘video robots’ for remote monitoring of Covid-19 patients

HUS Helsinki University Hospital is working with Finnish carrier Elisa to lay the ground for 5G-enabled ‘video robots’ to enable doctors and nurses to interact with coronavirus (Covid-19) patients remotely. The pair have already deployed a prototype video robot that uses the hospital Wi-Fi network....

Nordic signs with Arkessa to offer global roaming on dual NB-IoT/LTE-M module

Nordic Semiconductor has struck a deal with Arkessa to offer wider international cellular IoT connectivity with its nRF9160 system-in-package (SiP), the Trondheim-based firm’s flagship dual-mode LTE-M and NB-IoT module. Global roaming has remained a challenge for the broad IoT sector, with mainstream telecoms operators running...

Bouygues Teleco and IBM team up on 5G for factories, hospitals, utilities, cities

France-based Bouygues Telecom has joined with IBM to collaborate with enterprises on industrial 5G use cases in the manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, energy and utilities, and smart city sectors. Bouygues Telecom said the rollout of 5G networks in France in the coming weeks will give rise...

Manufacturing, construction, agriculture to drive 80% of £15bn 5G boom in UK

Over three quarters of projected economic growth from 5G in the UK will be driven by just three sectors: manufacturing, construction, and agriculture. These industries, considered to be linchpin ‘verticals’ of the broad Industry 4.0 movement, will contribute £5.2 billion, £4.2 billion, and £2.2...

A neutral-host 5G sky-network – for smart farming, industrial IoT, autonomous vehicles

In case you missed it, a Deutsche Telekom-backed 5G sky-network is gearing up for launch – offering country-wide 5G coverage for a decently-sized European country with just 60 masts – and no site rentals to speak of. As covered over on RCR Wireless last...

Verizon and AWS roll out 5G-based MEC to Dallas and Miami to drive new V2X trials

Verizon has rolled out 5G-based edge computing with AWS to Dallas and Miami, taking the total city-count for their combined infrastructure to seven cities in the US. The setup is geared towards trials of a number of new latency-sensitive industrial applications, notably around healthcare...

Citymesh strikes MVNO deal with Proximus to take private 5G nationwide in Belgium

Private cellular specialist Citymesh has struck a deal with Proximus to offer mobile and fixed telecom services on the Proximus network in Belgium, running alongside localised cellular services in its own spectrum.  The agreement on mobile services extends to a wholesale-based mobile virtual network operator...

Telstra, Ericsson devise edge-cloud 5G bundle to drive Industry 4.0 Down Under

Telstra and Ericsson have struck a deal to bundle localised edge-based 5G connectivity and compute functions for enterprises in Australia. The pair are looking to develop a reusable “edge cloud solution”, out of a test model deployed already with an unnamed financial services company,...

A1 and Nokia formalize private 5G partnership after trio of Austria installs

A1 Austria is working with Nokia to deploy private LTE and 5G networks for enterprises in Austria. The pair have already worked together to deploy private wireless campus networks in Austria for Vienna Airport, automotive manufacturer Magna Steyr, and a government-funded 5G Playground in...

NEC installs private 5G and camera-AI at new V2X test centre in Japan

NEC Corporation has opened a mobility test centre in Japan to develop autonomous driving technologies and intelligent transportation systems. The setup uses a private 5G network running high-speed video analytics to help vehicles connect with and navigate through traffic and road infrastructure. The new Mobility...

BT builds 5G university-campus network to spur local research, enterprise, uni life

BT has installed a dedicated public 5G network at the University of Warwick in the UK in what it reckons is a first for the country. The new setup comprises a public 5G cell site on the university’s main campus. The campus covers an...

The challenge to make disposable tracking tags (and massive IoT) green

Note, this article is taken from a new report on the asset tracking sector, called Asset Tracking – and the March Towards Massive IoT. The report can be downloaded here. With some horror, the idea of disposable tracking tags and labels, applied to millions of boxes...

Covid-fighting IoT-powered self-disinfecting door handles are coming

A Swiss startup has produced a self-disinfecting door handle that integrates an IoT module and platform to count and monitor usage, and signal for refills. The product, available in 2021 features an “electric engine”, a printed circuit board, and a lithium battery, alongside the...

Smart cities put faith in ‘tech-first optimism’ as Covid-era tech-spend set to triple

Cities must keep faith in “tech-first optimism” as they grapple with the fallout from the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in the next five years. A new forecast for smart-city spending in the period suggests they will embrace such a philosophy. Frost & Sullivan has issued a...

Three ways Covid-19 has spurred asset tracking and the march on massive IoT

Note, this article is taken from a new report on the asset tracking sector, called Asset Tracking - and the March Towards Massive IoT. The report can be downloaded here. It is not just about the march of technology – that trackers are getting smaller...

BT signs smart port agreement with Belfast Harbour

  U.K. carrier BT and Belfast Harbour have signed a partnership to build a 5G ecosystem within the Port of Belfast. BT said that the partnership will deliver a series of 5G-led innovations to accelerate Belfast Harbour’s digital transformation. Under the terms of the partnership, BT will...

NXP expands UWB portfolio for IoT smart locks and RTLS tags

Dutch chip-maker NXP Semiconductors has expanded its ultra-wideband (UWB) portfolio to include new integrated circuits (ICs) for IoT use cases including smart locks and real-time location system (RTLS) tags. UWB technology, a one-time competitor of Wi-Fi and some-time facility for military surveillance, has seen a...