Connexin recently launched a new movement at The Things Conference, which ran from 25-26 September in Amsterdam, titled: , “Liberté, Egalité, Connectivity: LPWAN for All” in a move to encourage the UK government to recognise Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) as critical infrastructure.
Connexin, who is a member of the LoRa Alliance, the membership organisation where industry experts collaborate and share experiences to promote and drive the success of LoRaWAN, reported that it saw an acknowledgement from the governemnt in the role of sensors, data analysis and connected devices as smarter infrastructure, but despite this, reports from the UK Wireless Infrastructure Strategy and Ofcom fail to mention LPWAN.
The UK government instead sees the connectivity focus as Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) and the ubiquitous roll-out of 5G wireless infrastructure as the answer to all connectivity challenges.
However, the opportunity to deploy smarter infrastructure across the UK efficiently and effectively relies on widespread LPWAN connectivity, according to Connexin, to connect the millions of IoT sensors and deliver real value to government and public sector organisations, promoting economic growth and social wellbeing. LPWAN has the power to revolutionise a wide range of industries at scale, pace, and for a fraction of the cost of higher cellular networks.
For example, LPWAN is delivering accurate and timely water metering across millions of homes in the UK; it’s being used to detect damp and black mould in social housing; and it is an essential component in creating smart buildings of the future, tracking inventory, or efficiently managing energy consumption.
The event provided an opportunity for key players in the IoT industry to meet in person, discuss the market and push forward the shared goal of scaling smarter solutions to improve outcomes for all citizens. Connexin chose The Things Conference (which was fully supportive of the campaign), as an opportunity to stand up, inspire action and encourage others to join their movement.
Jason Legget, who leads Connexin’s Public Sector & Enterprise IoT Solutions – took to the stage in a panel discussion with fellow members of the movement from organisations including Multitech, FarrPoint, and Semtech. They discussed why smart city innovations foster healthier and more prosperous societies and argued the importance for governments to sit up, take notice and truly endorse the use of the technology.
“We’re looking to work with UK partners and businesses who see LPWAN as a vital part of their operations. We want to create solutions for customers that build evidence of LPWAN’s benefits and drive confidence in it as a solution. We also want to bring together consortiums by working together with the LoRa Alliance to agree on the right policy message to deliver to our new government,” said Legget.
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