What is the difference between the SIGFOX network and the technology currently available?

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Abigail Booth
5 years ago
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1 1 What is the difference between the SIGFOX network and the technology currently available? Cost and Simplicity. The technology currently available is based on traditional telecommunications technology that has been adapted to create IoT-type solutions. It works but it is expensive to connect to and very power hungry. The majority of IoT-connected devices do not need to send huge data loads: they can function perfectly well using ultra narrow band technology. This type of solution can be set up and operated for as little as one-tenth of the cost of using a 3G/4G device, and because they are only on when they are transmitting, power demand is negligible. The significantly lower set-up and running costs make this technology a viable proposition for a great many more possible applications than are currently connected. The SIGFOX network has been designed with the IoT in mind. Typically, it is based on antennae and base station infrastructure that is completely independent of existing networks. SIGFOX is the only company rolling out a global network fully dedicated to connected objects. The SIGFOX network provides: Low energy consumption (many devices are battery powered) Long range (reducing network and subscription costs) Ease of use Security and reliability SOLUTION SIGFOX UNLEASHES THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE INTERNET OF THINGS WITH LONG RANGE, LOW BANDWIDTH, LOW POWER DEVICES, LOW COSTS

2 When will it be available? SIGFOX networks are presently operating in 14 countries, covering an area of more than 1.2 million km 2 and reaching 223 million people.

2 2 When will it be available? SIGFOX networks are presently operating in 14 countries, covering an area of more than 1.2 million km 2 and reaching 223 million people. Trials are under way in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne); Thinxtra will provide coverage to 30 percent of all Australians and New Zealanders by the end of this year, rising to 85 percent within 18 months. 3 How does one use this new network? Very simply. A SIGFOX stack and a current subscription will be all that is required to connect an IoT-enabled device to the Thinxtra network. No need for complex and expensive private networks & gateways to be deployed. No need for Wifi credentials to be entered, or Bluetooth pairing to be managed, or Zigbee profiles to be loaded. No need to build custom network management applications. Unique characteristics: Radio frequencies: The SIGFOX network operates in the unlicensed ISM radio bands. The exact frequencies vary from country to country: in Australia & New Zealand, it will be between 915MHz and 928MHz. Uplink and downlink: SIGFOX provides mono and bi-directional communication. The capacity to provide mono-directional communication allows for extremely low power consumption.

3 Reliable connectivity: SIGFOX solutions have been designed to provide 99% reliability for applications looking to connect large numbers of objects. Several antennae receive each message and the network backbone has a redundant and continuously monitored infrastructure to guarantee a high level of service. Security and privacy: Security is at the heart of the SIGFOX service and protection is implemented at each transport layer interface: Radio interface: Ultra Narrow Band (UNB) native protection, frequency hopping, data encryption for authentication, anti-replay, redundancy in transmission (multiple frames per message) and in reception (broadcasting to multiple base stations). Base Station > SIGFOX platform: redundant VPN link. SIGFOX platform > Customer IT platform: HTTPS. 4There is already a lot of data being collected and used aren t you reinventing the wheel? We re refining the wheel providing people with a solution designed to meet their specific needs, rather than one adapted from existing communications technology more suited to other applications. SIGFOX s focus on low-power, low-bandwidth communications makes network deployment fast and simple. Devices are only on when they are transmitting data, meaning power demand is a fraction of that for a device operating on a GSM network. To take one example, a GPS tracker could run for up to 10 years on two AA batteries. An industrial wood pallet could become a connected pallet with GPS geolocalisation and temperature sensor simply by embedding a small device in the frame. The same could be done with a shipping container; the container could connect to the SIGFOX network at its destination port for enhanced supply chain visibility and control. This all-round ease of installation and use makes IoT technology viable for a far greater number of applications than is currently the case.

4 5Will the technology you are introducing be compatible with the hardware people already own and the communication and data format protocols currently in use? This is a disruptive technology; however, SIGFOX provides its connectivity protocol for free to leading silicon and module vendors. Its partners include world s leading chipmakers, giving IoT users a wide choice of transceivers, systems-on-chips (SOCs) and modules for connecting their devices to the network. Partner equipment and devices are validated through the SIGFOX Ready certification programme to ensure optimal radio capacity and automated set-up on the network. Once certified, devices can connect instantly to SIGFOX s secure cloud, without pairing. By providing this simple, open, royalty-free and hardware-agnostic technology, SIGFOX significantly lowers the cost of connected devices and paves the way for scalable B2B and B2C applications. The SIGFOX network has the lowest deployment-and-maintenance costs of any system proposed, making for cost-effective subscription pricing. The SIGFOX Cloud provides a web application interface, as well as standards-based web APIs, for easy and seamless device management and data integration, providing simple integration with its customers IT systems. 6Who will own the data; what are the security and privacy implications? The customer owns the data and defines the format in which data is sent and received. SIGFOX and Thinxtra only transport the data and do not have any knowledge of the format or content of the customer s data. SIGFOX also uses other mechanisms and tools to reinforce network security (private device Key, Base Station SSL certificates, etc.) and customers can always implement additional codification within the 12 Bytes payload. Privacy and security are important issues for all parts of the value chain from devices to network to cloud and applications, and SIGFOX provides a secure network connection to transmit anonymous binary data. SIGFOX works with customers and partners to develop the appropriate levels of security, privacy, and associated policies on the devices, cloud and applications. Additionally, a large proportion of applications need only to send data: SIGFOX provides the opportunity for one-way connectivity, and therefore a significantly enhanced level of security.

Technology Overview: A Secure Network CHIP IS NOT ACTIVE UNLESS A MESSAGE IS SENT A DEVICE PRIVATE KEY IS USED TO SIGN MESSAGES ONLY SIGFOX PLATFORM UNDERSTANDS UNIQUE ID OF DEVICE LIMIT OF 12 BYTES

5 Technology Overview: A Secure Network CHIP IS NOT ACTIVE UNLESS A MESSAGE IS SENT A DEVICE PRIVATE KEY IS USED TO SIGN MESSAGES ONLY SIGFOX PLATFORM UNDERSTANDS UNIQUE ID OF DEVICE LIMIT OF 12 BYTES MESSAGE LIMIT OF 140 MESSAGES / DAY LESS THAN 6 SECONDS EACH LIMITED 2 WAY COMMUNICATION EXTRA SECURITY: ANTI-REPLAY, MESSAGE SCRAMBLING & SEQUENCING 7How can you make money from this? Thinxtra s revenue will be generated from three workstreams, covering infrastructure, applications and services: Selling subscriptions: annual network connection and monthly usage fees. Selling & distributing connected hardware, which may well include Rakon-designed and manufactured components. Selling services: advising customers on the right solution to adopt and how to implement it. 8How secure is this as a long-term business proposition? The IoT and the number of connected objects is forecast to grow exponentially over the next few years. Providing the first and best IoT-dedicated solution available to businesses and consumers in this region puts Thinxtra in a position to establish itself as the market leader. SIGFOX technology provides Thinxtra with a significant advantage over other potential entrants, and we are confident we will be able to build on this advantage to maintain that market-leading position over the long term.

6 9How do you guard against commodification? By having diverse sources of revenue. We expect and welcome the commodification of consumer devices such as pet trackers, medical monitoring devices and the like: the more devices connect to our network, the greater our potential revenue from subscriptions. Industrial users will always require a solution that is at least partly tailored to their particular requirements, making them customers for our expertise in choosing the solution that is right for them and implementing and managing that solution to best advantage. 10How big do you see the overall market in Australia and New Zealand? Based on current market forecasts, we expect the total number of connections to overtake total population by Who are your competitors? The industry is still developing, with no national deployments. Some companies are attempting localised LoRa based private network solutions in New Zealand and Australia; however, SIGFOX is to date the only international LPWA-based IoT connectivity solution to offer a global device to cloud solution.

12What industries do you think stand to gain the most from this technology? Before the network is fully deployed, we expect much of our business to come from industrial users.

7 12What industries do you think stand to gain the most from this technology? Before the network is fully deployed, we expect much of our business to come from industrial users. Examples include asset tracking to improve asset management and process efficiency, smart metering to help utility companies implement demand management schemes, smart lighting and smart parking for local authorities, and smart irrigation, crop monitoring and cattle tracking for farmers and primary production companies. When the network is fully deployed (by the end of 2017), consumer markets will bring new opportunities, including smart tracking and monitoring (pets, bikes, boats) and preventive maintenance for high value consumer goods (fridges, washing machines, HVAC). Market Segments

8 IoT clearly offers the opportunity for people 13The to create new products and services. Are you looking at getting involved with any educational institutes and do you have any plans to promote this technology to students? The IoT has obvious applications in a broad range of sectors, which makes it very relevant to students and educators in numerous disciplines. We are keen to talk to them about how we can collaborate on initiatives such as a creative hub/startup incubator. Thinxtra will be offering universities and other tertiary education and training providers free student connections to the SIGFOX Network, as well as development kits for educational tools. Down the track, we would like to extend our involvement for example, by sponsoring competitions for the most creative application.

9 14Why is Rakon investing in Thinxtra? We have a history of innovation in communications technology that goes back some 50 years. We have been interested in the IoT space for many years, and Rakon component technology is ideally suited to SIGFOX s low-power wide area network solution. Getting involved with the development and installation of this new network across Australia and New Zealand will build our understanding of this exciting new technology, inform our research and innovation programmes and enable Rakon to develop and trial new products and solutions for the global IoT market. Rakon considered the option of partnering directly with SIGFOX as their NZ Network Operator (SNO); however, we saw Thinxtra s expertise, and saw the potential for one company to develop a SIGFOX network across New Zealand and Australia presented an even greater opportunity. 15What does this mean for Rakon s existing operations? It s business as usual. We are continuing to work closely with our customers in the telecommunications, global positioning, and space and defence industries to exploit new opportunities; we are also maintaining a strong culture of continuous improvement in all areas of the business. We identified the potential of the IoT and the growth in data demand driven by Machine to Machine connectivity some while ago, and see our investment in Thinxtra as the perfect complement to our other business activities. How much emphasis will be put on IoT / M2M initiatives, compared to the areas Rakon is currently 16active in? This is an addition to our existing business activities, not a replacement. The IoT is a rapidly developing market and Rakon will continue to develop and expand an innovative product portfolio to meet the demand for products and services associated with connecting to the IoT. Given our shareholding, we will play an active role in the company s governance; however, Thinxtra has a strong and experienced senior management team in place.

10 17Is Rakon expecting to invest more in Thinxtra? To date, Rakon has invested AUD5.8 million. Thinxtra expects to raise a total of AUD20 million some via a capital raising round set to open later this year. Rakon has an option to invest a further AUD3.0 million, based on certain objectives being achieved, which we intend to exercise. This will give us a substantial shareholding in Thinxtra: we think it s a great investment. 18 Why is Thinxtra selling out to Rakon? We re not selling out. Thinxtra s founding shareholders remain fully committed to the company; none of the Rakon funding is going anywhere other than into the growth and development of Thinxtra s business in Australia and New Zealand. Because we re staying involved, we needed a co-investor that we could work alongside, and whose skills and knowledge complemented our own. In Rakon, we think we have found the ideal partner for this exciting venture. 19Who is SIGFOX? SIGFOX was founded in 2010 by Ludovic Le Moan and Christophe Fourtet. SIGFOX is the world s leading provider of dedicated connectivity for the Internet of Things. The company s network complements existing high-bandwidth systems by providing simple, economical, energy-efficient, two-way transmission of small quantities of data over long distances, thus lowering barriers to the wide implementation of IoT solutions, and greatly extending the battery and service life of connected devices. Currently operating in 14 countries and registering over seven million devices in its network, SIGFOX is today the only commercially available IoT-dedicated connectivity solution that guarantees a high level of service and reliability on an international scale. SIGFOX is backed by international telecom operators such as Telefonica, SK Telecom and NTT DOCOMO Ventures, and strategic investors such as Samsung, Intel Capital and Air Liquide. They have invested $150 million in the company in order to accelerate its worldwide expansion. In 2016, SIGFOX plans to roll out the service to more than 30 countries. Corporate headquarters are in France, and the company has offices in Boston, San Francisco, Madrid, Munich, Dubai and Singapore.

11 20Who are your competitors internationally? SIGFOX is the world s first and only provider of a subscription-based LPWA communications offering with an international coverage and service commitment. This marks the start of a new era that goes beyond technology enablement and focuses on accelerating the development of the IoT. While other participants in the Internet of Things connectivity space are still focusing on low-level technology enablement, SIGFOX is providing a complete solution that enables IoT applications to be scaled up. No other participant in the Internet of Things connectivity space has a public service-coverage map that can be compared to ours. What are the advantages of having a separate 21network operator The business divides quite naturally into the services provided by SIGFOX (base station development and upgrades, worldwide ecosystem support, and commercial governance) and the services provided by the SNOs (network deployment, channel management, and local ecosystem development). Working with SNOs allows us to develop new markets in concert and to work with partner companies that have a good understanding of and strong connection with the local market, likely customers, and potential investors. 22Where do you see future growth coming from From both the expansion of our network (we are on target to be active in 60 countries by 2018) and by the continuing increase in the number of applications and, by extension, the number of devices connected to our network around the world.

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