Kinéis and Semtech have announced a strategic collaboration to integrate satellite and terrestrial IoT into a single electronic chip. Kinéis, a French satellite operator and global connectivity provider for the Internet of Things (IoT), offers near real-time data transmission with low bandwidth and very low power consumption. Semtech is a global provider of high-performance semiconductors, IoT LoRa® and cellular systems, and high-quality connectivity and cloud services.
Through this collaboration, users of Semtech’s LoRa Edge™ chips (including LR1110 and LR1120) can now achieve global IoT connectivity by utilizing Kinéis’ satellite connectivity alongside terrestrial LoRaWAN® connectivity, without the need for additional electronic modules. This partnership simplifies the implementation of hybrid terrestrial-satellite devices that support multiple standard connectivity protocols.
Specifically, with Semtech’s LR1110 chips, users of terrestrial LoRaWAN IoT connectivity can enhance their applications to:
1. Receive data via terrestrial LoRaWAN connectivity when available.
2. Receive data via Kinéis satellite IoT connectivity elsewhere.
3. Obtain complementary location data to GNSS information.
4. Access a reference design and a guide from Kinéis to create equivalent radio modules for partners using terrestrial IoT to enable spatial connectivity.
Alexandre Tisserant, President of Kinéis, commented on the collaboration, stating: “This strategic partnership meets market demand by combining the best available terrestrial and satellite networks, offering our customers continuous and absolutely global service, operating simply and transparently. The ability to use Kinéis technology with widely available electronic components like those from Semtech highlights the potential for rapid dissemination of satellite IoT applications.”
Kinéis is a key player in the satellite IoT market, with a focus on sustainability. Just four years after raising 100 million euros, the Toulouse-based company will deploy its constellation of 25 nanosatellites, starting in summer 2024, marking the first European constellation dedicated to IoT.
The Kinéis-Semtech collaboration addresses the needs of IoT solution users. Beepings, a pilot partner, has welcomed this collaboration. Since 2017, Beepings has been developing autonomous tracking solutions with extended autonomy using the latest technologies in indoor/outdoor geolocation and data transmission for various external sensors.
