Orange Business Services (OBS) has introduced IoT Connect Anywhere, a low power wide area network (LPWA) connectivity enabling enterprises to set up private LoRA networks for Internet of Things (IoT) projects.

IoT Connect Anywhere provides customers with scalable end-to-end connectivity between devices and a data management platform.

Smart city applications

According to OBS, the solution provides on-premise connectivity suitable for a range of applications, including energy- and fluid management, on-site tracking, geo-fencing, waste control, environmental metering, lighting and parking monitoring in smart cities.

It relies on Orange’s Datavenue IoT and analytics platform, which is designed to collect, analyse and turn raw data into actionable insights. Orange can also provide consulting and integration expertise to further guarantee a project’s success.

LoRa is a low cost, highly power-efficient network technology, which is capable of transmitting data over a large area wirelessly, making it suitable for rugged locations, dense urban environments or multiple industrial campuses.

It consumes approximately 15 times less energy than a cellular network. It is also extremely flexible and easy to deploy, requiring only small gateways fitted with antennas. LoRa also includes encryption to make sure the network is fully secured.

“To achieve its full potential, IoT requires flexible deployment and secure, seamless connectivity”

In addition to the security mechanisms in the LoRaWAN protocol, IoT Connect Anywhere includes secure transport between the gateway and the network and data delivery over hypertext transfer protocol secure (https). This means all communications between the browser and the website are encrypted.

“To achieve its full potential, IoT requires flexible deployment and secure, seamless connectivity,” said Olivier Ondet, senior vice president, IoT and analytics, Orange Business Services.

“As part of the group’s strategy, IoT Connect Anywhere satisfies these requirements by removing the complexity of connecting IoT devices. It provides our customers with end-to-end connectivity, covering every step of their data journey.”

Orange said it is running IoT Connect Anywhere for a US-based multi-national oil and gas company across its widespread campus for mobile asset tracking and asset management.

With extensive underground tunnelling, mobile assets are tracked via a LoRa-enabled GPS tracker using a private LoRaWAN when outside the tunnel system. By integrating the solution into the existing operational platform, continuous tracking and geo-fence alerting is now possible, added Orange.

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