Paris, 26 March 2015 – Since November 2013, the city of Grenoble has been the setting for a unique experiment, the first of its kind in the world. For 16 months, Bouygues Telecom, its international partners (Semtech, Sagemcom, Eolane, Adeunis and Kerlink) and several major industrial customers have been testing LoRa (Long Range) technology and assessing its performance in real-life conditions. LoRa’s ability to respond to the wide-ranging demands of large industrial customers (excellent penetration in buildings or in basement spaces, bi-directional and secure communications, mobile devices, geolocation services, etc.) makes it, from a user standpoint, the most advanced technology for the Internet of Things (IoT).
Developed by the French company Cycleo (based in Grenoble, winner of the 2010 Oséo prize and a subsidiary of Semtech since 2012), LoRa is a low-power wide-area (LPWA) technology that enables smart devices to share small packets of data, with autonomy of up to 10 years with standard batteries.
Bolstered by the results of this trial, Bouygues Telecom has now announced the launch of France’s first IoT network, based on LoRa technology, in close collaboration with Semtech.
Abroad, major operators like KPN, Swisscom, Belgacom and Fastnet are in the process of deploying LoRa networks or carrying out large-scale trials.
The IoT network, to be opened as early as June in Issy-les-Moulineaux and a part of Paris, will use the “high points” of the Bouygues Telecom network that boasts more than 15,000 sites. From the end of the year, around 500 towns and cities will be covered by this IoT network, including Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Rennes, Nantes, Montpellier and Angers.
Bouygues Telecom will be the first French operator to launch a complete commercial offer in the fields of Machine to Machine (M2M) and IoT (Internet of Things) and thus respond to the needs of all its customers.
“The Internet of Things is going to transform entire areas of our economy. Thanks to the expertise and the infrastructures of Bouygues Telecom, we will be able to quickly offer nationwide coverage with a high- quality service,” enthused Olivier Roussat, Chairman and CEO of Bouygues Telecom
“The pilot scheme carried out with Bouygues Telecom is a world first that has enabled us to improve LoRa protocols further. Its long-standing involvement in the development of our technology and its ceaseless work to improve it within the LoRa Alliance has made Bouygues Telecom one of the world’s leading experts in IoT technology. We are now impatient to rise to the challenges of its future customers within the framework of their network roll-out,” said Alain Dantec, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Semtech
LoRa, leading the way in IoT
LoRa boasts unique properties that make it the most advanced technology of its kind in the IoT field, enabling it to be deployed for a wide range of activities and uses:
Smart Cities (smart parking, building surveillance, sound monitoring, people detection, traffic management, street lighting management, domestic waste management, billboard displays, etc.)
Smart Environment (fire detection, air pollution, snowfall measurement, avalanche prevention, flood and drought monitoring, earthquake detection, etc.)
Smart Water (drinking water monitoring, chemical contamination detection, swimming pool monitoring, seawater pollution measurement, leak detection, tide monitoring, etc.)
Smart metering/smart Grid (smart electricity/water/gas meters, measurement of liquid levels, monitoring of photovoltaic installations, water flow, calculation of stock in silos, etc.)
Tracking (vehicles, bicycles, objects of value, animals, people)
Safety and Rescue services (analysis of presence in dangerous/forbidden zones, presence of dangerous liquids, radiation levels, detection of explosive substances, etc.)
Commerce (supply chain control, mobile payments, smart shopping, shelf stock rotation)
Logistics (monitoring of transport conditions, parcel localisation; detection of stock incompatibility, fleet traceability, etc.)
Industrial monitoring (monitoring of machines/state of equipment, indoor air quality, temperature control, ozone level detection, localisation of equipment/products indoors, vehicle servicing, etc.)
Smart Agriculture (monitoring of greenhouses and vineyards, golf course irrigation management, weather stations, compost, animal tracking, etc.)
Smart Livestock Care (traceability of pasture feeding, monitoring of toxic gas levels, animal progress monitoring, hydroponic farming, etc.)
Smart Buildings & Homes (water and electricity consumption, remote control, intruder detection, smoke detection, surveillance of valuables, etc.)
eHealth (fall detection, medicine storage, sporting performance monitoring, patient monitoring, ultraviolet radiation, etc.)
About Bouygues Telecom
Bouygues Telecom wants its 11.1 million mobile customers and 2.4 million fixed broadband customers to get the most out of the latest digital technologies. In June 2012, Bouygues Telecom launched the Bbox Sensation triple-play offer, packed with the most innovative technologies on the market to transform the digital home experience. In 2014, Bouygues Telecom and SFR signed an agreement to share part of their mobile networks outside high population density areas in order to improve network coverage and quality of service for their respective customers. The Bbox Miami TV box, launched in 2015, combines the best of TV and the world of apps within the same interface. For the benefit of the greatest number of people, our mobile network covers 99% of the population with 2G, and 97% in 3G+.
Bouygues Telecom also provides its customers with a nationwide 4G network which now covers 71% of the population, equating to 45 million people in France in more than 2,700 towns and cities. Each day, more than 8,800 employees develop and build solutions aligned with the expectations of our customers and with those of 1.7 million professional people and businesses who place their trust in us. Our 4,500 call centre, internet and in-store advisers ensure optimum customer service on a daily basis enthusiastically.
