This week started with yet more insolvencies in the Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) space.
hashtag#NNNCo, Australia’s hashtag#LoRaWAN network operator entered voluntary liquidation on 15th November, and hashtag#SimpleCell, the hashtag#Sigfox operator in the Czech Republic shut down. This follows dozens of other LoraWAN and Sigfox closures over the past 24 months.
Interestingly, AT&T followed NT Docomo in announcing the end of support for NB-IoT.
This is hardly surprising; to survive as an operator selling minute amounts of data at very low cost, requires millions of subscribers. There just aren’t that many golden opportunities.
With the cost of 4G and 5G LTE modems continuing to fall, and satellite direct to cell services launching from SpaceX and others in 2025, why would you continue to fund a proprietary terrestrial network.
Through good fortune or foresight, hashtag#Senquip has invested in 4G, 5G and satellite direct to cell technologies. This places us well to provide telemetry devices that support global coverage, even where there is no terrestrial infrastructure.