BICS extends NB-IoT to France in deal with SFR

  • January 27, 2021
  • Steve Rogerson

Belgian communications enabler BICS is expanding its coverage of NB-IoT connectivity with French mobile operator SFR.

This will bolster BICS’s ability to embed 2G, 3G, 4G, NB-IoT, LTE-M and Cat-M1 connectivity directly in the devices of OEMs and IoT players via its SIM for Things. The acceleration of LPWAN deployment solves many technical, operational and commercial problems to help hardware manufacturers deploy IoT services around the globe.

BICS’s network is central to the IoT ecosystem, connecting IoT devices with 2G, 3G and 4G connectivity to more than 700 mobile operators around the world. In addition, BICS has developed one of the largest NB-IoT and LTE-M networks in the world, with coverage in 30 countries. Through its eSIM, manufacturers can embed connectivity and switch networks depending on quality and coverage.

The introduction of NB-IoT and LTE-M connectivity is set to benefit a host of IoT applications. By using LPWAN connectivity, devices use less power, reducing maintenance cost and battery size, and thus opening the door to provide connectivity to more connected devices. Embedding this connectivity directly into these devices speeds up their physical deployment and builds in flexibility to tailor connectivity to each use case.

“We are leveraging our leading position in the market to provide greater choice and flexibility to the global IoT industry,” said Mikaël Schachne, CMO at BICS. “By capitalising on our relationships with mobile operators around the world, BICS is uniquely placed to provide companies global 2G, 3G, 4G, NB-IoT and LTE-M connectivity to make IoT deployment simple, reliable, flexible and cost effective.”

At BICS’s recent Future of Connectivity event, Kaleido Intelligence’s chief of research, Steffen Sorrell, highlighted that with 2.5 billion LPWAN connections predicted by 2025, there will be a large market for NB-IoT in the coming years. BICS’s expanded NB-IoT and LTE-M network is a major step in facilitating the deployment of global IoT projects for enterprises and providing instant and secure connectivity for devices.

During the past year, BICS has enhanced its IoT offering, launching a partnership with Avnet Silica to accelerate global IoT deployment and open use cases capitalising on NB-IoT and LTE-M connectivity. The announcement with SFR strengthens BICS’s global connectivity to support the anticipated growth of the IoT market.