Thinxtra currently uses LPWA IoT network technology in Australia and New Zealand.
Thinxtra, an Australian provider of “internet of things” infrastructure, announced plans to launch a Sigfox low-power wide area IoT network in Hong Kong early next year. The Australian company said it’s currently deploying a territory wide IoT LPWA network designed to connect to other networks based on Sigfox’s technology, which is said to be up and running in 28 countries.
Thinxtra said it has a live LPWA network covering 65% of the Australia population and 80% of the New Zealand population, along with a local ecosystem of more than 100 IoT partners. The company plans to cover 95% of the population of both countries before the end of 2017.
“We’re bringing our expertise and experience to Hong Kong to support its ongoing transformation into a smart city and a leader in IoT adoption and development,” said Murray Hankinson, managing director of Thinxtra Asia. “We also see great potential for Hong Kong to be a world-leading design and manufacturing hub for IoT innovation, and we’re investing here to support this growth.”
Thinxtra has been working with Hong Kong Science and Technology Park on the research and development efforts, as well as the design of devices, sensors and solutions.
“With Thinxtra and Sigfox, Hong Kong will have the necessary network and support to bring IoT solutions to life,” said Rodolphe Baronnet-Frugès, EVP of networks and operators at Sigfox.
NTT DoCoMo joins CAICT’s 5G Promotion Group
In other APAC news, NTT DoCoMo signed a memorandum of understanding with the China Academy of Information and Communication Technology to jointly work on 5G standardization technologies and available frequency bands.
Under terms of the agreement NTT DoCoMo will participate in the 5G Trial launched by the IMT-2020 Promotion Group, which was established at CAICT’s initiative in February 2013. During the trial, NTT DoCoMo and CAICT plan to study possible frequency bands for 5G networks.
