Millions of new sensor-enabled devices have been developed over the past few decades. The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the connection of these physical devices to the internet, all collecting and sharing data for a myriad of business, economic and environmental purposes. This technology has quickly become a significant frontier that has not only been a game-changer for many organizations but also has the potential to improve many aspects of our lives.
IoT is one of the fastest-growing parts of many industries, with the size of the current market, including hardware, software, systems integration, and data services estimated to be $520 billion. To put that in perspective, in 2017, the market crossed the $100 billion threshold for the first time, and by 2025 that number is expected to grow to about $1.6 trillion.
Today, the fastest-growing category of IoT network connectivity is LoRa and LoRaWAN technology.
LoRa (short for long range) is a low-power wireless radio platform that has become the de-facto technology for Internet of Things (IoT) networks worldwide. The LoRaWAN open specification is a low power, wide-area networking (LPWAN) protocol based on LoRa technology and is used to wirelessly connect battery operated things to the Internet in regional, national, or global networks
LoRaWAN holds a myriad of advantages over competing IoT technologies such as cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, including long-range, low-end device battery power consumption, flexible, low-cost network builds, and robust security features, which is why a variety of organizations across nearly all markets are turning to the technology.
With this massive market opportunity as a backdrop, today, Senet, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based software and services platforms that enable global connectivity and on-demand network build-outs for the Internet of Things (IoT), and Helium, the company behind one of the world’s first peer-to-peer wireless networks, today announced a network integration, broadening access to public LoRaWAN network connectivity for customers deploying IoT applications throughout the United States.
“Our collaboration with the Helium Network demonstrates Senet’s commitment to leading through a combination of innovation and partnerships,” said Bruce Chatterley, CEO of Senet. “With a unique and complementary business model for deploying LoRaWAN networks and the combination of extended network coverage and the potential economic incentive of HNT puts Senet and the Helium Network in a leading position to move the market a step closer to pervasive low power wide area network coverage for IoT applications throughout the United States.”
“This is an exciting announcement for the industry,” said Amir Haleem, Helium’s CEO, and co-founder. “The roaming integration with Senet is made possible by the Helium blockchain and brings together two of the fastest-growing LoRaWAN networks in the United States, delivering a significant opportunity for our Hotspot owners to benefit from the rapidly growing IoT services economy.”
The Helium Network, also known as “The People’s Network,” joins a growing number of network operators, Radio Access Network (RAN) Partners and network infrastructure providers partnering with Senet to ensure that LoRaWAN connectivity can be accessed when and where it is needed, and at the optimal cost.
The Helium Network has witnessed rapid growth in Hotspot deployments from 7,000 in 2020 to over 175,000 in 2021 across 123 countries globally. There are more than 500,000 additional Hotspots currently back-ordered waiting to come online and over 50 new manufacturers waiting to be approved to build and sell Helium-compatible hardware.
For Helium-compatible Hotspot owners, this partnership provides an opportunity for increased network traffic generated by high-density IoT applications being deployed by Senet customers, such as asset tracking, logistics, and supply chain monitoring, environmental monitoring, and municipal (Smart City) services.
These customers represent well over one billion transactions processed on the Senet network annually, while accumulated data transfer and “proof-of-coverage” transactions earn Hotspot owners HNT cryptocurrency for their contribution to building and maintaining the Helium Network infrastructure.
On the other side of the partnership, Senet operates the largest and most densely deployed public carrier-grade LoRaWAN network in the United States, deployed in over 29 states, covering over 1,300 cities, serving a population of over 55 million people, and processing millions of transactions daily.
Senet’s network is the first and only National public, carrier-grade LoRaWAN network in the U.S and, through this integration, is providing its customers deploying enterprise and consumer-grade devices with expanded access to public network coverage delivered by over 175,000 Helium-compatible Hotspots.
This network access is available from Senet under its previously announced Extended Coverage offering and is supported by Senet network management services, delivering the highest levels of reliability and responsiveness for scaled IoT applications. See our recent article: A Move Toward Pervasive LoRaWAN Network Coverage
As the world continues to become ever more digital with each passing day, expanding access to LoRaWAN networks will be essential.
Edited by
Luke Bellos
