‘NewSpace’ start-up Hiber was named as the Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) Commercial Startup Launch of 2018 at the AWS re:Invent Conference at the Venetian Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevadaon Sunday. At the event, Hiber announced the official launch of its nano-satellite powered solution, which will be bringing IoT-connectivity to the 90% of the world currently lacking a network.
Hiber was selected by AWS out of 6000 other startups to launch its solution at “Midnight Madness” in front of re:Invent’s 50,000+ attendees from the technology world. Previous companies to be named with the prestigious title include Netflix, Pinterest and Airbnb.
Hiber’s IoT-connectivity network will be operational from Q1 2019. The first 25 customers, many of whom are working on tech for good projects, are ready for deployment as soon as the network goes live The company is filling a gap in the market as less than 10% of the globe is currently covered by IoT-ready connectivity. Existing networks favor urban areas and wealthier countries, while traditional satellites that provide wider coverage are expensive and power hungry.
When in orbit, every Hiber nano-satellite will fly over the earth’s poles 16 times a day and each spot on the equator twice a day, being the first of its kind to provide the planet with truly global IoT-connectivity. Using a process that is up to 20 times cheaper than existing global solutions, it works by transferring data from modems and antennas owned by customers directly to the micro-satellites. Data packets are then sent back to earth via the two initial satellite gateways in Spitsbergen in Norway and Delft in the Netherlands.
Ernst Peter Hovinga, co-founder and CEO of Hiber, said: “We’re honoured to have been chosen by AWS to announce our product at re:Invent as its Commercial Startup Launch of 2018. Our collaboration with AWS means our customers can collect data, transfer it via our nano-satellite network and then export it to the AWS IoT-toolkit for further data analysis. These capabilities are truly transformational for many of our customers in remote and third world areas.”
Hiber is launching its first nano-satellites this month; HiberOne from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India and HiberTwo from Vandenberg, California. It expects to launch dozens of satellites to meet the enormous demand for IoT-ready data connectivity around the world in the next 12 to 18 months.
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