Jersey Wants To Become An IoT Testbed With New LoRa Network

Jersey is to be turned into a testbed for Internet of Things (IoT) applications with the launch of a Long Range (LoRa) Wide Area Network across the island.

State owned Jersey Telecom (JT) provides communications services to domestic customers and has a significant international division, which includes IoT. The telco has more than one million SIMs powering connected devices such as heart monitors and payment systems.

It says the LoRa network will allow for low cost, battery-operated devices in hard to reach places and envisages that Jersey will be the ideal place for companies to test out their products. JT also says islanders themselves will benefit from smart traffic and environmental applications.

Jersey IoT

“LoRa is a relatively new technology but its potential in the IoT space is already considerable,” claimed Tom Noel, IoT will fundamentally change how we live, work and do business.

“By building this network, and taking an open, collaborative approach, with Digital Jersey and others, we truly explore the potential of a LoRa network, and ultimately help our customers to engage with this exciting new world of IoT technologies.”

The deployment is being carried out in partnership with Digital Jersey, a government-led initiative to turn the island into a tech hub.

“As a small jurisdiction, where we can get all the key players around the table working together, we should be able to take a lead and create a smart island to attract technology developers, encourage new start-ups and ultimately create new businesses and jobs,” added Tony Moretta, Digital Jersey CEO. “JT’s strengths in this area are a real asset for Jersey and their support is invaluable.”

JT did have a spot of bother before Chrristmas however when a ship’s anchor severed three of the four international submarine cables linking the island to the rest of the world. All three connected to the UK, so all traffic was rerouted via a cable to France.

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