SIGFOX antennas on Sydney and Melbourne's tallest buildings

IoT network operator Thinxtra has begun deployment of the SIGFOX public network — an ultralow-energy network providing the connectivity that enables small, inexpensive devices to communicate — following the announcement of its partnership with SIGFOX earlier this month.

Base stations and antennas have now been installed on top of the tallest buildings in Australia: Sydney Tower Eye and Melbourne Eureka Tower. These two locations, together with just six other installations, are said to provide good initial SIGFOX coverage for the two cities’ CBDs.

“We chose these two prime sites to showcase the fantastic range (20 km+) you can get with SIGFOX,” said Thinxtra CEO Loic Barancourt, who said the installations marked the first milestone in the rollout of the nationwide public networks. “We will cover 85% of the population within the next 18 months, starting with covering 30% of the ANZ population by the end of 2016.”

Beyond setting up base stations on high location points, Thinxtra is already discussing deployment opportunities to support local IoT projects with schools, universities and local councils in Australia and New Zealand.

“We have already identified a huge demand for innovative applications in sectors including asset tracking for industries, smart metering for utilities, smart irrigation and cattle tracking for agriculture, as well as a wide range of smart city solutions,” said Barancourt.

“The SIGFOX technology Thinxtra is rolling out in New Zealand and Australia makes connecting to the IoT viable for a great many more applications.”

If your council, university or business would like to take part in the IoT revolution, contact the Thinxtra deployment team at iNeedSIGFOX@thinxtra.com.

Image caption: SIGFOX coverage in Melbourne. Red = quality signal for deep indoor connection. Green = great signal for indoor connection. Purple = signal for outdoor connection.