Switzerland, Slovenia and Austria in the focus of the expansion of the IoT infrastructure
- Europe’s largest Sigfox 0G network operator reaches important milestones in the network rollout in Switzerland, Slovenia and Austria
- The network is planned, coordinated and operated centrally via the Shared Service Center (Heliot SSC)
- Heliot’s “We got you covered” strategy enables rapid, needs-based additional expansion of the network for customer applications
- Roaming in 72 countries, 18 million smart objects and the choice of almost 1000 different end devices underpin Sigfox’s pole position as an IoT provider
Bern / Ljubljana / Vienna / Munich in August 2021 – Area coverage and coverage of the population as a basic strategic approach, additional densification at important traffic points and needs-based expansion geared towards customer requirements: Heliot Europe reached important milestones in network expansion in June and thus strengthens its position as Europe’s largest Sigfox IoT network operator.
Switzerland
Since July 2021, the Sigfox 0G network in Switzerland has covered over 90 percent of the inhabited areas as well as logistically used areas and thus areas relevant for IoT applications – a new peak value that, in addition to international roaming and the large selection of devices, takes the leading position underpinned by Sigfox in the field of IoT infrastructure and has already convinced several important customers from logistics, trade and industry. The uncomplicated pan-European integration was often decisive here – in addition to the favorable investment and operating costs.
Slovenia
Only about ten months ago, Heliot Europe started here in Slovenia on the sunny side of the Alps. At the end of June, Heliot Slovenia had already achieved the target of 50 percent of the network expansion planned for 2021/2022. In the southernmost country covered by Heliot Europe, the topic of smart cities in particular plays an important role for IoT applications. For the second half of the network expansion, Heliot will recruit new partners to develop the radio sites for an even faster expansion, should this become necessary.
Austria
The Alpine republic is catching up and opening up extended coverage in a new valley region almost every week. A large part of the Austrian population is currently covered in the most important urban and rural supply areas for industry, technology and agriculture. Major customers such as Austrian Post already use the Sigfox 0G network for their applications.
Germany
The largest of the four countries in the Heliot region is also expanding its network: after a good 90 percent of the total population was covered with the 0G network last autumn, Heliot Europe is now working on densification in the metropolitan areas especially for major customers in the logistics business and trading.
Central planning and implementation of the network expansion
The company behind the expansion planning, Heliot SSC, is active in various areas: Network planning and construction are important service modules of the company. Operation and maintenance of 0G network infrastructure is also offered – as well as billing and reporting for network operation. This enables the company to adapt, expand and deploy IoT infrastructure and services for customers even faster. “Following our ‘We got you covered’ strategy, we offer fast and needs-based network expansion – we have successfully proven this with our major customers from logistics and retail,” says Thomas Scheibel, CEO of Heliot Europe.
Worldwide upward trend ensures new Sigfox networks
The global Sigfox 0G network for IoT is already available in 72 countries worldwide – with iWire, an IoT network provider, the 0G network will soon be offered in other countries. With 34 million US dollars from Series A funding, iWire plans to build Sigfox networks in 12 new countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. iWire had already established and expanded the Sigfox network in the United Arab Emirates in 2019 and the company would like to use the additional funds to expand its network coverage to new markets such as India, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and Tunisia. Starting next year, iWire will expand its network to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and a few more countries in the Middle East and Africa are on the agenda.
About Heliot Europe
Heliot Europe is the exclusive operator of the global Sigfox 0G network in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and Liechtenstein. This makes Heliot Europe the largest 0G network operator in Europe. The main shareholder in Heliot Europe is Cube Infrastructure Managers, a fund manager focused on investment into European infrastructure. . Heliot Europe is also a founding member of the 0G United Nations Association, the international association of 0G network operators with currently over 55 network operators worldwide.
With Sigfox 0G technology, Heliot Europe offers a cross-border, seamless and user-friendly, cost-effective and energy-efficient network and supports companies in further converting their business model in areas such as asset tracking, asset monitoring and supply chain management towards digital services. The low-frequency radio technology is also a cost-effective alternative to the existing Narrowband Internet of Things (NBIoT). In addition, customers have access to the global Sigfox 0G ecosystem with almost 1000 sensors and analysis tools for recording and evaluating their data. Further information can be found at: www.heliotgroup.com
