Spark has begun rolling out its LoRa IoT network in New Zealand’s most populated urban centres, switching on sites in Christchurch, Wellington, Hamilton and Auckland in time for the new year.
A further sixteen cities will be connected early in 2018. Spark plans to build LoRa IoT network to cover around 70% of the population by the middle of the 2018.
Spark said it has been testing the technology with partners from a range of industries, from agriculture through to marine, and is seeing strong demand for the network as a result.
The network will allow businesses and local councils to connect to "things", like waterways, traffic lights, and machinery. Spark’s national LoRa network is being built by specialist network provider, and IoT rollout experts, Kordia.
It will suit low-power, low-data uses, complementing the high-power NB-IoT and Cat-M1 IoT that Spark began trials on this month.
The Operator has partnered with Kerlink to roll out its nationwide LoRaWAN IoT network. Spark also announced that it will trial the Cat-M1 IoT network across its core 4G network, ahead of commercial launch in early 2018.
By 2020 Spark’s IoT networks will cover around 80% of New Zealand’s population, said the Operator.
Michael Stribling, GM IoT Solution, Spark
The ways we’ll be able to use this new network are huge – it will change how our cities and businesses operate. We can put sensors on vehicles and equipment so we know where they are and how they’re being used. Sensors will be able to tell our councils when to carry out maintenance. There are so many examples of how it will help us manage assets better.
