Belgium has become the seventh European country where the SIGFOX dedicated IoT network is being rolled out nationwide or already operating.
SIGFOX, which aims to provide cost-effective, energy-efficient Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, and ENGIE have jointly announced that ENGIE M2M, a new ENGIE subsidiary, will deploy the SIGFOX IoT network across Belgium.
As a SIGFOX network operator, ENGIE M2M will work with Belgian developers and businesses to grow the IoT ecosystem and provide connectivity subscriptions to customers. By lowering barriers to more widespread implementation of IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity, the SIGFOX global network will allow Belgian customers to connect millions of devices.
The network is expected to be available nationwide in two years. Electrabel, a Belgium-based electricity and natural-gas company and ENGIE subsidiary, also will explore opportunities to integrate the SIGFOX IoT network within its B2B and B2C solutions.
With this agreement, Belgium becomes the seventh European country where the SIGFOX dedicated IoT network is being rolled-out or already operating on a nationwide basis. This is also SIGFOX’s second announced partnership in the past month with a subsidiary of ENGIE. Cofely Services, Europe’s leader in energy and environmental-efficiency services for buildings, said it will use the SIGFOX network to expand services it provides building owners in France. ENGIE, formerly GDF Suez, also participated in SIGFOX’s recent venture capital round that raised $115 million from investors in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
“This collaboration with ENGIE is exciting and significant on two levels,” said Rodolphe Baronnet-Frugès, SIGFOX executive vice president of networks and operators. “First, it brings the many benefits of SIGFOX’s Internet of Things connectivity to businesses, governments and other users in Belgium and, second, it expands our relationship with the ENGIE Group, a global leader in solving the most pressing energy and environmental challenges.”
Unlike systems that are still in the development stage, SIGFOX’s Ultra Narrow Band (UNB) technology for connecting devices is providing scalable, long-range, two-way connectivity and very high capacity in more than a dozen countries and major cities.
Through the SIGFOX Ready™ program, the company ensures that compatible devices have optimal radio performance and are promoted in the global SIGFOX Ready™ solution catalogue. Moreover, the company partners with Texas Instruments, Atmel, Silicon Labs, Telit, AXSEM, ATIM and other chipmakers to give IoT users a wide choice of transceivers, systems-on-chips (SoCs) and modules for connecting their devices with its network. No other system offers this truly open approach.
