Samsung and SK Telecom will roll out an IoT network blanketing South Korea on the 900 MHz frequency band, the South Korean companies announced on May 25 according to IoT World News. This is an initial city-wide test for future applications of the IoT: the final network could be used across the country for big data analytics in areas like healthcare and medical services, renewable energy, and electric and autonomous vehicle infrastructure. Sensors on streetlights could be used to collect and display weather, traffic, and pollution levels.
Youngky Kim, Samsung Electronics president and head of networks business, announced that SK will be partnering with Samsung to leverage “a critical moment for ICT companies looking for new future business opportunities such as IoT services.”
The network will use LoRaWAN, a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) protocol using the LoRa standard, which is designed as an open standard for carrier-grade IoT connections. LoRa uses data rates of 0.3 kbps to 50 kbps, and is designed to run battery-operated, connected devices and to promote interoperability between IoT devices by encouraging security and relatively simple localization services. According to the LoRa Alliance, LoRa devices are typically deployed in a branching topology with gateways connecting the end devices to a central server using standard IP connections.
Samsung is joining several other telecom companies on the LoRa network, including Orange, Swisscom, and du, a mobile provider in the United Arab Emirates.
“With the early deployment of a nationwide IoT network, SK Telecom will be able to maintain its position as pioneer in the field of telecommunications,” Lee Jong-bong, Executive Vice president and head of Infra Division at SK Telecom, said in the press release from Samsung. “SK Telecom will continue to work closely with partners including Samsung to deliver new value and convenience to both individual and enterprise customers over the IoT network.”
The network will start in the city of Daegu, South Korea and is expected to be available throughout the country by mid-2016.
Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)
