CAT Telecom taps Actility for national LoRa-based IoT network

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Actility announced that Thailand’s CAT Telecom has selected the ThingPark Wireless LPWA connectivity platform to power a national IoT communication network rollout across the country, beginning with a smart city solution for Phuket that also enables tourist tracking.

Actility has partnered with local system integrator and communication network specialist Teo Hong Silom Group to support the deployment and scale-up of the network.

According to CAT Telecom president Colonel Sanpachai Huvanandana, CAT Telecom is determined to develop a LoRaWAN network to support IoT services in line with the government’s Thailand 4.0 agenda.

“The key factors in developing true smart cities, such as we are pioneering with the city of Phuket, are infrastructure and services. These smart services will include smart metering, smart buildings, smart lighting, smart parking, smart farming, smart logistics and smart tourism,” he said. “These services require a data communication infrastructure which covers a long distance, uses low energy and cuts the operating cost, all of which are major advantages of the LoRaWAN wireless network.”

CAT Telecom has also launched a ‘LoRaWAN IoT by CAT (Thai link)’ platform to support the commercial sector in developing and innovative industrial IoT services. Currently the company is testing a tracking service combining GPS and IoT communications enabling cars, motorbikes, dump trucks and coaches to be tracked across the province.

In Phuket the service is  supporting tourism, with a speed-boat businesses deploying the tracking technology to ensure customer safety by installing trackers on their boats and providing tracking wristbands for their customers. CAT Telecom is also working with its alliance partners to support the smart tourism campaign through the Smart Phuket 4.0 mobile application, ‘beacon’ devices that accurately inform tourists and foreigners in the province about product deals and tourist attractions, and digital signage locating restaurants, tourist spots, accommodation, hospitals and the locations of key governmental offices.

“In the future, the information on the behaviors and activities of tourists will be aggregated by a big data platform”, said Colonel Huvanandana. “It will greatly benefit the business owners and city administration. They will be able to perform deep analysis of consumer behavior, and also improve the quality of life and the safety of the local citizens, improve all aspects of city management in all aspects and make Phuket a world class smart city.”

CAT Telecom aims to use its experience from the Phuket project to create a transferrable business model and technical solutions to accelerate the deployment of Smart Cities in 18 provinces across Thailand, including the Bangkok region, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Nan, Saraburi, Nakhon Nayok, Prachinburi, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, Maha Sarakham, Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani and Nakhon Pathom. and the three provinces in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), namely Chonburi, Rayong and Chachoengsao.

Actility CEO Olivier Hersent said the CAT Telecom deal is “a big win” for the company, adding that over 50 operators currently use ThingPark-powered networks to support IoT applications and services.

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