Actility, the industry leader in low power wide area networks (LPWAN), announces the integration of Cisco’s LoRaWAN module for the IR1110 industrial router into its ThingPark® platform to simplify and accelerate the ability to extend LPWAN connectivity to remote sites and meet the connectivity requirements of businesses wherever they operate. At the Mobile World Congress in February 2023, Cisco announced its pluggable interface modules (PIM) for the Cisco Catalyst IR1100 Rugged Series Routers for long-range wide-area network (LoRaWAN) connectivity.

Actility has a long history of close working relationships with Cisco, both as a technology and solution partner and as one of Actility’s investors and worldwide Channel Partner, deploying LoRaWAN solutions across the world. Actility’s Long Range Relay base station (LRR) software has already been integrated into Cisco’s LoRaWAN Interface Module for LPWA IoT networks since 2016, allowing Actility to combine their best-in-class LoRaWAN network software with their cutting-edge hardware solution and integration capability. But now, the companies have reached a new step in delivering the most cutting-edge solution on the market, fueling the explosive growth of IoT globally.

The Cisco PIM for LoRaWAN enables long-range, low-power connectivity for industrial IoT sensors. It can fit in space-constrained and distributed environments and be used as a LoRaWAN gateway. Unlike other solutions, the Catalyst IR1101 LoRaWAN module offers flexibility and scalability to be installed in various locations. When using the router with two modules, it can function as an integrated LoRaWAN gateway with 4G/5G backhaul capabilities, making it easy to deploy in tight spaces. Users of Cisco routers can easily transition to LoRaWAN connectivity without the need to purchase a new router. They can simply upgrade their existing router to start utilizing LoRaWAN technology with the help of the new pluggable module.

Actility’s ThingPark Enterprise and ThingPark Wireless clients are already integrated into this module, allowing the gateway to seamlessly connect with ThingPark without requiring a software update, and providing users with automatic access to a suite of powerful tools. Furthermore, the IR1110 Cisco Router can be conveniently upgraded in the field to become ThingPark-compatible as this module can be effortlessly inserted into it. The integration allows enterprise, industrial, and public sector customers to implement value-added end-to-end industrial IoT use cases such as infrastructure monitoring, industrial automation, geolocation, metering, and more.

Data collected from LoRaWAN field sensors is locally decoded by ThingPark’s edge processing, leveraging a comprehensive catalog of drivers. ThingPark also implements a rich library of connectors which take care of activation and synchronization of digital twins at scale for all leading IoT platforms, including Microsoft Azure IoT Hub and IoT Central, AWS IoT Core, PTC Thingworx, and many more. Actility’s ThingPark Enterprise platform, accessible for free through ThingPark Community, provides a dependable LoRaWAN connectivity infrastructure to efficiently connect your low-power IoT devices. It streamlines IoT network operations, providing enterprises with a proficient UX to easily build a multi-gateway LoRaWAN network and feed data to IoT applications.

ThingPark Wireless is the preferred IoT network platform for service providers rolling out LPWAN connectivity services. ThingPark Wireless powers the vast majority of large-scale nationwide LoRaWAN network deployments worldwide. ThingPark Wireless is designed for security, carrier-grade availability, and scalability. The platform is open, modular, and supports the latest specifications of the LoRa Alliance, enabling seamless interconnection with other public and private networks.

Stating that many industries are now deploying a blanket of unlicensed long-range IoT radio coverage over their buildings, campuses, parkings, construction sites, etc., and the energy crisis is accelerating this trend, Olivier Hersent, CEO, Actility, added, “The main difficulty is to securely integrate this new infrastructure within the existing industrial networks. Cisco is solving this problem beautifully with the new PIM LoRaWAN GW module for the IR1101 industrial routers. Hundreds of thousands of these routers have already been deployed to form the backbone of industrial IP networks, and now adding LoRaWAN is a no-hassle “plug-in” option.  This could not come timelier to provide decision makers with full visibility on their energy and other utility costs, and more generally for asset tracking and optimization. We are glad to provide turnkey support for Cisco LoRaWAN PIM modules and wireless gateways in ThingPark Enterprise LPWAN infrastructure.”

For more information: www.actility.com