Highlights –

  • The EchoStar Mobile satellite, equipped with the LoRa network, enables industries to use IoT in innovative ways to transform their operations.
  • The white paper, named ‘Satellite-based LoRa Unlocks Europe-wide IoT,’ focuses on use cases and how space-based connectivity can streamline, automate and enhance IoT networks.

EchoStar Mobile, an agile, innovative mobile satellite services Irish-based provider, has launched an early adopter program for a pan-European satellite-based LoRa Internet of Things (IoT) service. The firm has also published a white paper about accessing the benefits of massive IoT.

With this program, participants in sectors such as transport and logistics, agriculture, oil and gas and utilities will test a satellite-enabled connectivity solution that uses the LoRa (meaning ‘Long Range’) low power protocol for connecting ‘things’ to the internet. The white paper, named ‘Satellite-based LoRa Unlocks Europe-wide IoT,’ focuses on use cases and how space-based connectivity can streamline, automate and enhance IoT networks.

Telemaco Melia, Vice President and General Manager of EchoStar Mobile, said: “LoRa connectivity makes up 45% of today’s global IoT networks; it’s perfect for connecting low-powered ‘things,’ yet its reliance on terrestrial connectivity restricts its usefulness. Replacing fiber and cable with satellite connectivity, the EchoStar Mobile solution is the first real-time, bi-directional LoRa service with mobile and remote capabilities. Accelerating the adoption of massive IoT, our program already spans more than 10,000 devices, with the service expected to scale to millions of devices in Europe alone.”

LoRa is a low-power networking protocol that is best suitable for battery-powered devices; nevertheless, its application has previously been confined to receiving data from stationary devices in places with terrestrial connectivity.

The EchoStar Mobile solution enables sensors to wander freely while sending and receiving data in real-time. It combines the company’s licensed S-band spectrum and capacity on the EchoStar XXI geostationary satellite with a LoRa-enabled module that can be easily integrated into IoT devices.

The module, which is compatible with terrestrial ISM-band LoRaWAN networks, embodies  Semtech’s compact LR1120 chipset, making it portable and capable of traveling anywhere within the satellite footprint, which encompasses the European continent.

Mr. Melia continued: “Big data is the new currency in a world of accelerating change. The rapid collection, processing and management of data are vital for optimising industrial processes and changing society through innovation, whether by supporting the wider development of Smart Cities or the transition to renewable energy. Achieving the full potential of IoT means accessing data from thousands of machines, factories or distribution facilities, however remote, and bringing it to a central point for analysis and insight. The EchoStar Mobile satellite-enabled LoRa network enables industries to use IoT in innovative ways that can transform their operations.”

The EchoStar Mobile LoRa, an early adopter program, will operate through 2022, with commercial availability anticipated by the end of the year.