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Silicon Valley To Get a Cellular Network Just For Things

Posted by Soulskill on from the apparently-this-is-happening dept.

An anonymous reader writes "MIT Technology Review reports that French company Sigfox will soon roll out a cellular data network in the San Francisco Bay Area aimed exclusively for low-bandwidth, low power devices such as household appliances and sensors. It's the U.S. debut for a technology already in use in France. The network uses the 900 MHz unlicensed spectrum used by cordless phones. Sigfox says that and their technology's very low bandwidth makes it possible to connect devices significantly more cheaply than with conventional cellular modems and service."

2 of 42 comments (clear)

  1. Why? by epyT-R · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why do I want my household appliances sending usage data to who knows where?

  2. PG&E by Ion+Berkley · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They're rather late to the game, PG&E has been running a 900MHz ISM IPv6 mesh network for several years over the whole of Silicon Valley, every electricity meter is a node, with gas meters relayed via the electricity meters, and indeed the same radios proliferate many other places in the world.