Korean telecommunication firm SK Telecom has announced partnership with CAT Telecom of Thailand to build IoT networks in the Southeast Asian country.
The alliance will deploy LoRa-based IoT networks in central Bangkok and the entire Phuket Province. The network will provide IoT related services starting from April 2017.
Phuket was chosen as Thailand’s first smart city project. The two telecom companies plan to launch LoRa-based vehicle location tracking service first after the new technology is deployed. More IoT services such as smart metering and smart street lightning are expected to come later.
The LoRaWAN will be rolled out in central Bangkok to offer IoT-based location tracking service for tourists. For instance, the Grand Palace will be covered in the network; the IoT service can prevent children and the elderly from going missing around tourist attractions.
The service built by SK Telecom and CAT Telecom will be the first IoT service in Thailand.
If this partnership goes well, the Korean telecom may extend similar cooperation in other Southeast Asian countries, said Cha In-Hyok, the executive vice president and head of IoT Business Division of SK Telecom, in an announcement.
SK Telecom just commercialized the IoT network back in its home country in July 2016. The telecom partnered with Samsung to deploy IoT networks that are based on LPWAN technology LoRa nationwide.
While many mobile operators are going for another LPWAN technology NB-IoT, SK Telecom is one of the operators supporting LoRa, along with some other operators in the world such as Orange, Swisscom, KPN and Bouygues.