Orange accelerates towards the Mobile Internet of Things
n Orange announces it will deploy LTE-M technology in Spain and Belgium, with rest of Europe to follow
n Orange reinforces its commitment to develop the IoT ecosystem, with the launch of Europe’s first LTE-M Open IoT Lab
Orange advances its strategy for LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) networks
Orange has primarily chosen LTE-M to be progressively deployed on its 4G networks in Europe, starting with Belgium and Spain this year before the rest of the Group’s European footprint. This versatile and cost-effective technology is seen by Orange to support the broadest of uses, connecting – in a secure and scalable way – a wide variety of IoT devices, from smart utility meters, asset monitoring trackers, vending machines and alarm systems to fleets of vehicles, heavy equipment, mHealth and wearables. It also offers rapid deployment involving a simple software upgrade to the Group’s existing global 4G network.
The group is also launching new LTE-M pilots this year, amongst them one on smart electric metering (to remotely control power consumption and adapt user subscriptions); and another on wearables (to measure individual movement, positioning, temperature or other health-related information). For those pilots, Orange is working closely with leading LTE-M chipset manufacturers: Altair Semiconductor, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and Sequans as well as various network equipment vendors.
Orange cements its commitment to develop the IoT ecosystem with Europe’s first LTE-M Open IoT Lab
Orange is creating an Open IoT Lab designed to boost the ecosystem around the Mobile Internet of Things. It is the first of its kind in Europe based on LTE-M technology and is to be launched under the GSMA Mobile IoT initiative.
Available from 1st April, the Open IoT Lab is located at Orange Gardens, the Group’s innovation campus in Chatillon, France, and is designed to support partners wishing to accelerate the development of LTE-M devices with access to:
– an IoT Starter Kit;
– network equipment to test performance, low data rate, coverage extension and energy optimisation features;
– its IoT & Analytics platform, a key component of the Orange Datavenue IoT solution;
– and Orange technical experts, designers and marketers to benefit from the Group’s go to market ability in industries such as smart cities & territories, automotive & transportation, industry & manufacturing, healthcare and smart home.
The Open IoT Lab also allows partners willing to evaluate how their product or service performs over LTE-M or LoRa® technologies as two complementary IoT solutions.
“Futureproof, secured and reliable connectivity is a key pillar of Orange’s IoT strategy. By working together with IoT partners, device manufacturers and innovators, we can accelerate the development of the LTE-M technology end-to-end chain, and therefore advance towards the future of the Internet of Things,” comments Mari-Noëlle Jégo-Laveissière, Executive Vice President Innovation, Marketing & Technologies, Orange.
A suite of complementary LPWA solutions to suit all requirements
This LTE-M announcement comes as a new illustration of Orange’s investment strategy on LPWA, which started with the opening of a LoRa® network in early 2016 in France, now providing indoor or deep indoor coverage in more than 2,000 towns, cities or industrial sites. The Orange LoRa® solution serves more than 60 live B2B projects, in numerous verticals such as smart cities, smart building, parking, smart home, industry, supply chain, tracking, and agriculture, and enables Orange and its B2B customers to quickly gain in experience on LPWA benefits.
The Orange LoRa® end to end solution will be extended worldwide in July 2017 as an Orange Business Services offer to provide focused coverage on cities, harbours, or industrial sites.
To meet all of its customers’ needs, Orange also continues testing and evaluating other Mobile IoT technologies, as well as preparing for 5G.
About Orange
Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 40,9 billion euros in 2016 and 155,000 employees worldwide at 31 December 2016, including 96,000 employees in France. Present in 29 countries, the Group has a total customer base of 263 million customers worldwide at 31 December 2016, including 202 million mobile customers and 18 million fixed broadband customers. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services. In March 2015, the Group presented its new strategic plan “Essentials2020” which places customer experience at the heart of its strategy with the aim of allowing them to benefit fully from the digital universe and the power of its new generation networks.
Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).
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