Three national companies, Discovery, Netstar and Fidelity ADT, have signed deals with SqwidNet to deliver Sigfox’s IoT connectivity technology.
Ludovic Le Moan, founder and CEO of Sigfox, comments: “We are proud to get such traction in South Africa and to announce three different deals for more than 2,5 million devices. SqwidNet is doing amazing work to drive IoT adoption across South Africa, as revealed by the signing of those three major contracts.
“Today’s announcement reflects also Sigfox’s commitment to educate and explain how to benefit from IoT for industrials. With our presence in 50 countries and thanks to this education phase, we are now signing a major connectivity deal every week. We are at the cusp of a technological revolution with the limitless application, and South Africa is amongst the most innovative countries harnessing the power of massive IoT.”
Phathizwe Malinga, MD of SqwidNet, adds: “The signing of these three contracts serves as an opportunity for us to cement our commitment to driving innovation through IoT in South Africa.”
Through SqwidNet, Discovery Insure in partnership with Cambridge Mobile Telematics will harness Sigfox’s connectivity technology amongst some of its IoT technology and innovations. The technology will help to enhance Discovery’s core business model.
“The opportunity Sigfox’s technology represents allows us to expand our telematics and technology offering within the insurance sector,” says Anton Ossip, CEO of Discovery Insure. “As a data-driven business who uses this information to change behaviour and reward clients for improving their risk factors, this is an important innovation for us.”
Netstar, a subsidiary of JSE-listed Altron, will also sign with SqwidNet. Through the deal, Netstar will move beyond its traditional vehicle tracking capabilities, with new cost-effective telematics devices and other IoT-enabled solutions. Benefits will include countrywide coverage, maximize the rate of vehicle recovery and mitigate against signal jamming technology deployed by sophisticated criminals.
“To evolve our IoT solutions we realised that we needed to enhance connectivity within our suite of solutions,” says Pierre Bruwer, MD of Netstar. “With over 600 000 vehicles already in our cover, the Sigfox network is set to provide additional connectivity that will enable us to enter new markets and develop new solutions.”
Security firm Fidelity ADT also chose to partner with SqwidNet, to use Sigfox’s connectivity technology to improve customer experiences, drive efficiencies and expand into new markets. SqwidNet’s Sigfox enabled network ensures reliable transmission of detailed zone alarms, compatibility with most existing alarm panels, as well as mitigate the risk of signal jamming.
“Now we have SqwidNet with a fully deployed, SLA-driven LPWAN in South Africa, we don’t see the need to play in the network space and this allows us to focus our resources on innovative solutions for our customers,” says Wahl Bartmann, CEO of Fidelity ADT. “This is the beauty of using Sigfox’s connectivity technology – ease of integration in converting existing hardware to communicate on Sigfox and simple integration into their back-end systems to receive sensor data plus a low cost to convert.”