Acceleration of network expansion in focus
Sigfox – the world’s leading provider of communications solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) – has entered into collaboration with Telxius, the infrastructure company created by Telefónica, to further accelerate the expansion of the Sigfox network in Germany. The cooperation enables Sigfox to increase its network coverage in Germany to more than 80 percent in one fell swoop.
In a first step, Sigfox will equip a number of the 2,350 telecom towers that Telxius acquired from Telefónica Germany in early 2016. In addition, Sigfox can utilize further selected antenna locations of Telefónica Germany for further expansion of its network. To reach complete network coverage across Germany requires only about 2,500 Sigfox base stations. The comparatively low infrastructure costs are a major reason why the Sigfox network offers price advantages over alternative solutions.
Thumbs up for cooperation by Jörg Feige from Telxius, Werner Lindemann and Aurelius Wosylus from Sigfox, Manfred Kickartz from Telxius and Vincent Sabot from Sigfox (FLTR)
“The focus of this cooperation is to cover more ground with existing infrastructure in order to achieve high outdoor coverage as quickly as possible. This is critical for the rollout of transportation, logistics and geolocalization applications, and our second major development goal after having already succeeded in serving the metropolitan areas,” said Vincent Sabot, Vice President Europe at Sigfox.
“Our Germany-wide infrastructure is ideal for sending and receiving data over the Sigfox network. It was developed for mobile telephony and already ensures reliable network coverage in Germany. It therefore enables an efficient roll out of the low-power wide-area based Sigfox network, whose cells provide extensive coverage,” explains Manfred Kickartz, Managing Director at Telxius Towers Germany.
Until now, Sigfox Germany has acquired masts and roofs for its base stations directly, reaching a network coverage of over 60 percent within 18 months. The co-operation with Telxius will increase network coverage to more than 80 percent, bringing the target of full network coverage by the end of 2018 within reach.
The globally expanding Sigfox network connects billions of devices to the Internet. Sigfox’s unique approach to device-to-cloud communications addresses the three greatest obstacles to global IoT adoption: cost, power consumption, and global scalability.