Sigfox continues to expand network coverage in Latin America

Sigfox has joined forces with WND and Phaxsi Solutions to roll out its communication service network for the Internet of Things (IoT) in Columbia.

WND is the partner company responsible for extending Sigfox’s network across Latin America while the deployment will be managed by Phaxsi Solutions, which is the exclusive Sigfox network operator (SNO) in the country.

The roll-out coincides with the announcement of a nationwide alliance of universities, technology leaders and companies known as the Center of Excellence and Appropriation of Internet of Things (CEA-IoT). The alliance received an initial investment of $1.8m this year to promote the IoT as a tool for strengthening the country’s economic development.

“Our goal is to work with the national alliance to sustainably develop, consolidate and grow the IoT market in Colombia,” said Carolina Campo, co-founder and CEO, Phaxsi Solutions.

“The arrival of this global connectivity solution opens the door to new economically competitive and energy-efficient services for Colombian businesses. These will deliver a significant, positive impact for the Colombian economy.”

Among the likely IoT use cases and applications for companies and government agencies include logistics, supply-chain management, asset-tracking, crop and soil monitoring, alarm systems for homes and businesses, smoke detectors, smart-city apps and utility meter reading.

Following deployment of Sigfox’s dedicated, bi-directional IoT network in Brazil and Mexico earlier this year, Colombia becomes the third Latin American nation to roll out the global network and the 24^th globally. With Brazil and Mexico, Colombia’s deployment, which is already underway, it will extend Sigfox coverage to 57 per cent of Latin America’s territory and three fifths of its population.

The partners reckon the country’s top 10 urban areas, representing more than half of the country’s population, will be covered by mid-2017.