News
Objenious to use LoRa to underpin range of fleet management, geolocation, meter reading, predictive maintenance services.
Bouygues Telecom this week launched a new Internet of Things (IoT) subsidiary that will offer services running on the telco’s LoRa network.
Called Objenious, the new unit plans to unveil a portfolio of B2B and B2B2C services addressing areas including geolocation, fleet management, remote meter reading, and predictive maintenance.
Bouygues said several customers are already on board, from start-ups to local governments.
French start-up Wistiki plans to launch LoRa-powered devices that help people locate everyday items such as keys, wallets and baggage, as well as pets.
Objenious has also won a deal to provide fleet tracking services to Ecotextile, a specialist company that collects old clothes.
Furthermore, the Eure-et-Loir department will use Objenious’ network to provide smart agriculture and smart city services to businesses and local government.
In addition, JCDecaux has also trialled LoRa technology during the recent Paris climate summit, during which the company tracked the location of its self-service bicycle fleet.
"We have signed partnerships with some of France’s leading IoT players. Major industrial groups of course, but also start-ups that are making their mark, either in sensors or business applications," said Objenious chairman Stéphane Allaire, who until recently served as head of content and services at Bouygues Telecom.
"We have thus become a key player based on a national LoRa network and an IoT platform that is now ready to host our customers," he said.
Bouygues Telecom is currently deploying a nationwide IoT network based on LoRaWAN technology, a low power, wide-area networking (LPWAN) specification that can support bi-directional communication between battery-powered objects over long distances.
The network went live in June and is up and running in 15 of France’s biggest towns and cities.
Bouygues Telecom aims to cover 50% of the population by mid-2016, reaching 100% coverage by the end of the year.
