Abertis and SIGFOX Announce Their Partnership to Deploy the World's First Internet of Things Network in Spain

BARCELONA, Spain and LABEGE, France, February 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

The world's only dedicated Internet of Things network will be deployed nationwide in Spain on Abertis Telecom infrastructures and will thus connect Spain to the SIGFOX global network, already available in France, the Netherlands and Russia.

Eighteen months after launching its network in France, and after expanding the network to the Netherlands and Russia, SIGFOX announces the expansion of the network to Spain. Abertis Telecom's extensive network of telecommunication towers is ideal for rolling out the SIGFOX network, which will be deployed by Abertis. In addition the Abertis wholesale offering in Spain will be key to developing the local ecosystem in a wide range of Internet of Things sectors.

The partnership between Abertis and SIGFOX will enable Abertis to provide a two-way connectivity solution tailor-made for the Internet of Things. The SIGFOX network is attracting major interest from numerous sectors, including energy, smart cities, environmental monitoring, security, healthcare and transport, which are all very active sectors in Spain.

SIGFOX's existing customers and ecosystem partners are equally excited about this collaboration, since they will now also be able to distribute their solutions across the vast majority of Spain thanks to the high node density of Abertis's antenna network. The hundreds of on-going SIGFOX partner projects will now be able to take advantage of the integrated global distribution channel, allowing the same device to operate in any country where SIGFOX is deployed.

This partnership, which marks a major milestone in the worldwide rollout of the SIGFOX network, is the result of months of close collaboration and knowledge exchange between the two companies to design a network fulfilling the requirements for an Internet of Things. If the industry analysts' estimate of an Internet of Things with 50 billion devices by 2020 is to become a reality, then it is crucial that a new type of connectivity solution be found to remove the cost and energy consumption barriers currently blocking the full realisation of the Internet of Things. The collaboration between Abertis and SIGFOX further validates the expert opinions: the Internet of Things needs a new and tailor-made network, with low energy consumption and simplicity of use, while remaining very cost effective (modem, subscription, IT integration).

"Spain is very active within M2M and the Internet of Things and already has numerous players. We are proud that Abertis has agreed to be our strategic partner in Spain and we could not have thought of a better enabler for making it possible," said Ludovic Le Moan, CEO of SIGFOX.

According to Alex Mestre, Abertis Telecom's Director of Business Development: "The Internet of Things holds an amazing potential to improve our everyday life and our society. This partnership with SIGFOX will help us provide a solution to our customers when facing this explosion of connected devices and supporting them in their mobility and communications needs."

The network rollout in Spain will begin in February 2014 and the Abertis and SIGFOX teams are ready to assist customers and the ecosystem in parallel with the network rollout.

About SIGFOX

SIGFOX is the first and only cellular network operator dedicated to the Internet of Things. By removing the cost and energy barriers of connectivity for low throughput connected devices, SIGFOX unleashes the full potential of the Internet of Things. SIGFOX enables large-scale connection of objects through a simple, low-energy-consuming and cost-effective subscription-based connectivity solution. The cellular-based solution allows two-way communications without the need for application-specific network infrastructures and thus removes the installation complexity for the end users. Solution providers can build their products once and connect them on-demand, globally. SIGFOX contributes to wireless communication networks what Twitter contributes to web communications, i.e., the ability to communicate the essential information at low cost.

The SIGFOX network is deployed through the SIGFOX Network Operator partnership program.

For more information, see http://www.sigfox.com and follow us on Twitter @sigfox.

About Abertis

Abertis is a leading global infrastructure management Group developing its activities in toll roads and telecommunications business through its toll roads concession companies and Abertis Telecom. Abertis Telecom is a telecommunications infrastructure and media service company operating in the broadcast, satellite and mobile communications markets. With its networks and communications assets, the company provides the transmission services to the major TV station in Spain and the connectivity for leading mobile network companies and emergency services operators. Abertis Telecom will build on this experience with investments in a new smart communications network to support the mass rollout of connected objects in the context of the Internet of Things.