German IoT connectivity and software company 1NCE has won two major awards – earning a place on Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech list and a first prize at Light Reading’s Leading Lights.

At Fast Company’s second annual Next Big Things in Tech awards, which celebrate technology breakthroughs that promise to shape the future of industries, 1NCE received an honourable mention in the enterprise category “for making internet of things connectivity ubiquitous and affordable”. According to Fast Company, the awards “showcase new, ground-breaking technology or reveal an innovative application for existing tech”.

Most IoT projects require multinational deployments, but few mobile network operators have the capability to meet cross-border demands. With the 1NCE Lifetime Flat service, for €10 or $10, customers can deploy, connect and manage IoT sensors across the world for as little as a dollar per year per device. More than 10,000 customers worldwide already trust 1NCE with more than 15 million managed connections.

At Light Reading’s 18th annual Leading Lights awards, 1NCE and Flashnet, a specialist in intelligent energy management systems, won the top prize for outstanding use case in innovative IoT, which is “awarded to the service provider or vendor helping change businesses and improve customer experiences with innovative internet of things devices and services”.

For decades, Washington DC’s lighting system, covering more than 2400km of streets, has used high energy-consuming sodium lamps that require manual monitoring and reporting, and are serviced through a time-consuming, high-cost effort vulnerable to human error and oft-intense weather.

Flashnet and 1NCE teamed up to illuminate the USA’s capital using half the energy previously used at considerably lower operating expense. More remarkably, it’s a one-time job. Flashnet integrated 1NCE’s connectivity and software directly into the smart-city network with a telecommunication control unit (TCU) specially designed to tap instantly into existing light bulbs and poles, controlled and monitored from a distance.

Combining supply chain benefits, long-term energy-efficiency, reduced human error, lower risk of utility worker injuries, future-proof design, and monitoring and management tools, Flashnet has built a smart-city offering on the 1NCE platform that can be used by cities large and small, around the world.

“2022 was a huge year of change and growth for 1NCE, and winning recognition from these two prestigious programmes is validation of the hard work our team has done to deliver easy, affordable IoT connectivity and software across any border,” said Ivo Rook, chief operating officer at 1NCE. “And to receive an award together with our amazing partners at Flashnet emboldens us to continue working hard to disrupt IoT and assist smart cities in meeting the unique challenges of our times.”

The Fast Company and Leading Lights awards cap a successful 2022 for 1NCE, which also won at the IoT Evolution Product of the Year Awards and was named Best in Show at Embedded World. The company also expanded to its 153rd country, after starting the year at 106.

The company, founded in 2017 by CEO Alexander Sator with Deutsche Telekom, is headquartered in Cologne, Germany, and has more than 250 employees across 20 countries.