“Scotland has all the ingredients required to be a world-class digital location,” said Mark Begbie, business development director at CENSIS. “As we roll out LoRa across the country, the affordable, open networks will give SMEs low-cost access to next-generation connectivity, helping them to grow through the development of new solutions and devices with global export potential.”
According to the partners, the LoRa network in Orkney will build on the island’s TV white space technology, which uses the VHF/UHF channels released following the analogue TV switch-off to transmit internet traffic wirelessly over long distances. It will complement this radio infrastructure for broadband delivery.
The Inverness network, installed by CENSIS, Stream Technologies and SPICA Technologies, features 50 LoRa connected sensors as part of a £13million business hub. The devices will monitor temperature, humidity, noise, CO2 and light with the aim of delivering greater efficiencies and energy savings in the building and optimise the working environment.