Once completed, the IoT network will support several proof of concept Smart solutions for the Council, as well as an opportunity for IoT vendors to trial new products in a ‘living lab’ city environment. This open access network will be one of the first available in the UK and Pinacl is looking for interested parties (manufacturers, R&D institutions) to work with them to accelerate innovative IoT solutions within our urban environments.
Last year, Pinacl opened their new office in the heart of the financial district in Canary Wharf, London.
Pinacl has selected Stream Technologies and their IoT-X award-winning platform to monitor and manage the network and connected devices. IoT-X has been developed by Stream to provide an unrivalled level of connectivity management putting us in control of all aspects of IoT connectivity, regardless of network technology type.
The IoT network will sit alongside the existing Dark Fibre network deployed throughout Newport (and connecting back to the largest datacentre in Europe – NGD), and the public WiFi infrastructure installed within the City centre – all of these forming part of Pinacl’s Smart City blueprint.
Rob Bardwell, MD of Pinacl, said: “We are very excited about our latest IoT deployment in Newport. According to Gartner, only eight percent of UK resellers are already installing IoT solutions across the UK and we are pleased to say that we are one of them. The Internet of Things is going to reshape the world as we know it. With the rise of low-cost sensors, ‘everywhere connectivity’ and the exponential growth in data, the possibilities are almost limitless. We are always looking for interested parties to work with us on our Smart City deployments. Pinacl is right at the forefront of the IoT and see this as a key area for growth over the coming years”.
2016 was a busy year for telecoms operators in the IoT market, most notably in low-power, wide-area (LPWA) technologies as NB-IoT and LTE-M approach full commercial deployment. Analysys Mason’s analysts and consultants recently outlined their expectations for IoT in 2017.