The two companies expect to connect over a million devices by 2017.
Remote nodes on Sigfox networks, which are low data rate and ultra-narrowband, are expected to run for over 10 years on two AA cells.
Applications are expected in water metering, building securit, smoke alarms, tracking stolen farm assets, farm gate opening sensors, machine monitoring.
“Irish businesses and farmers have been quick to understand the benefits that the dedicated IoT network provides,” said VT Networks CEO Mark Bannon. “We look forward to launching programs that further integrate the network throughout the country.”
Earlier this year, VT held a ‘Sigfox makers tour’ in Dublin, a workshop based on a European tour (Sigfox is French) in which developers, makers and IoT start-ups get their hands on prototyping boards and the network to develop new applications. There is to be another in Dublin on 5th July, held with component distributor EBV Elektronik.
The National University of Ireland in Maynooth is setting up a VT Networks’ IoT academic program, where students will get free hardware, Sigfox subscriptions and licenses to ‘Sigfox-ready’ IoT platforms, said VT.
Sigfox claims to have >7 million devices in its network, across the world – claiming to have added 15 countries to its coverage map in the last year, planning to have >30 countries by the end of the year.
After France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, Ireland is the sixth European country to have complete Sigfox network coverage.
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