Taiwan gets its first commercial IoT network powered by Sigfox

Taiwan has welcomed its first commercial IoT network powered by Sigfox. The service starts at NT$2 per month per device (around US$0.07) and more than 50 partners are already on board.

Sigfox and UnaBiz, a Taiwanese network operator, were granted the island’s first IoT network operation license from the National Communications Commission in Taiwan. The service coverage has reached 85% of the population over the past four months. UnaBiz said it will keep rolling out the network, aiming to get the service to 95% of the population by the end of 2018.

The most affordable plan allows a device to upload 60 times per month for NT$2. The most premium model supports 4,200 uploads and 120 downloads per device per month for NT$22 (around $0.73). The rate is lower than Sigfox’s global average rate of US$1 per month.

Sigfox’s ultra-narrow band can work on non-licensed band Sub-GHz ISM, making it cheaper than data transmission. It is different from cellular technology which works only on high-priced licensed bands held by carriers.

Over 50 partners have signed up to work with UnaBiz. For example, bike-sharing service Obike uses Sigfox GPS to locate scattered bikes; security company Secom operates AED intelligence on Sigfox, to call operators to change batteries if outdoor security devices are running out of power.

With the first-of-its-kind IoT rollout, more IoT solutions are expected to be seen in Taiwan soon.

Meanwhile, Sigfox keeps pushing its deployment of Low-Power Wide Area Network around the world. The organization has invested US$100 million on network deployment. Currently there are 36 countries which adopt Sigfox networks and the network coverage has reached 512 million users. The network deployment may reach 60 countries by the next year.