News
French incumbent aims to extend IoT network coverage to 2,600 towns by end of January 2017.
Orange on Tuesday said it has exceeded the deployment goal for its LoRa Internet of Things (IoT) network.
When the French incumbent first shared its LoRa rollout plan in November 2015, it set a target of reaching 17 urban areas, including Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nice, Paris and Strasbourg, among others, by the first half of 2016.
On Tuesday, Orange said its IoT network is now available in 18 urban areas, encompassing some 1,300 towns. By the end of January 2017, Orange expects the network to cover 120 urban areas – approximately 2,600 towns.
Budding IoT start-ups can get hold of a connected objects starter kit, which will help them develop prototypes that use Orange’s LoRa network.
In addition to rolling out a LoRa-based IoT network – which uses unlicensed spectrum – Orange is also keen to use cellular IoT technologies, including extended coverage GSM (EC-GSM) and LTE-M.
"The goal is to meet all of its (Orange’s) customers’ requirements by offering appropriate connectivity solutions," said Orange, in a statement.
Orange said it is on track to generate €600 million of revenue from IoT services by 2018, which is one of the objectives of its Essentials 2020n strategic plan.
