UnaBiz, Asia's first Internet of Things (IoT)-dedicated network operator, has been awarded a license to operate an IoT network in Taiwan by the National Communication Commission (NCC). As the first of its kind to receive an IoT network operator license from the NCC since Taiwan's announcement of the use of unlicensed spectrum, UnaBiz is on track to become a nationwide network operator in Taiwan.
UnaBiz, a Sigfox partner, will install the Sigfox low-power wide area network (LPWAN) in Taiwan from this year. The Sigfox network is currently present in 32 countries worldwide and targets to reach 60 countries by 2018. The rollout of the commercial grade global network is in line with Taiwan's Asian Silicon Valley initiative, a vision to transform Taiwan from an ICT specialist to an IoT specialist.
UnaBiz's vision is to empower massive IoT in Asia. The network operator will engage and collaborate with industry partners, academic institutions and government agencies to help Taiwan address the global IoT market potential.
Philippe Chiu, MD and co-founder of UnaBiz shared, "This is a milestone for UnaBiz but also for Taiwan industry which henceforth can boldly step into the Sigfox global IoT market and ecosystem. I would also like to thank the early supporters of our vision for Taiwan and who kindly and efficiently made this possible, especially Legislator Karen Yu, Minister CK Lee and Benoit Guidee, Director of the French Office in Taipei."
In 2017, UnaBiz will focus on deploying the IoT network in the six main municipalities, namely Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, effectively bringing Sigfox service coverage to more than 80% of the population in Taiwan. Not only will the deployment be in the metropolitan area but throughout the rural parts of Taiwan, which brings significant benefits to the farmers, rural schools and businesses, as well as local governments. UnaBiz expects to cover 95% of the population in Taiwan by 2018.
The global IoT sensors market is expected to reach US$17.81 billion
by 2020, and although Taiwan is big in semiconductor manufacturing
(accounting for 60% of the global market), it only accounts for 15% of
the global sensor manufacturing. Given the predominant impact of Taiwan
in the conception, production and integration of smart sensors into
electronic hardware in the global IoT market, Taiwan's addition to the
Sigfox ecosystem represents a significant milestone.
Chiu
notes, "To significantly build up the IoT industry, we need a sound
ecosystem of highly-engaged players from semiconductors to device
manufacturers and all the way up to cloud platforms. That is why, on top
of providing Sigfox communication service, UnaBiz is also acting to
catalyse IoT opportunities by establishing partnerships and providing
keys to address the Sigfox global IoT market."
"According to studies, the explosion of the global IoT market will
create the largest device market in the world. The number will double of
that of the current market of personal PCs, tablets and wearable
technology combined. The growth of this ecosystem not only creates more
jobs in Taiwan's manufacturing industry but will eventually spur a
paradigm shift in Taiwan's entire workforce to that of a more innovative
and creative economy, one that engages higher skilled and hence
higher-paying workers. By leveraging on Taiwan's IoT manufacturing
strengths and the French engineering and creative capacity, we hope to
bridge the best of western and eastern worlds," added Henri Bong, CEO
& Founder of UnaBiz.
Interested?
Local IoT ecosystem and stakeholders can already evaluate and start developing products and solutions using the royalty-free Sigfox technology.
No comments:
Post a Comment