Irish mobile satellite services provider EchoStar Mobile has started an early adopter programme for a pan-European satellite-based LoRa IoT service.

The firm has also published a white paper about accessing the benefits of massive IoT.

Under the programme, participants in sectors such as transport and logistics, agriculture, oil and gas, and utilities will test satellite-enabled connectivity that leverages the LoRa low-power protocol.

The white paper, entitled Satellite-based LoRa Unlocks Europe-wide IoT, explores use cases and how space-based connectivity can help streamline, automate and enhance IoT networks.

“LoRa connectivity makes up 45% of today’s global IoT networks,” said Telemaco Melia, vice president of EchoStar Mobile. “It’s perfect for connecting low-powered things, yet its reliance on terrestrial connectivity restricts its usefulness. Replacing fibre and cable with satellite connectivity, the EchoStar Mobile solution is the first real-time, bi-directional LoRa service with mobile and remote capabilities. Accelerating the adoption of massive IoT, our programme already spans more than 10,000 devices, with the service expected to scale to millions of devices in Europe alone.”

LoRa is suitable for connecting battery-powered devices; however, until now, its use has been limited to receiving data from immobile devices in areas with terrestrial connectivity. The EchoStar Mobile offering allows sensors to roam freely in real -time while sending and receiving information. It makes use of the company’s licensed S-band spectrum and capacity on the EchoStar XXI geostationary satellite with a LoRa-enabled module that integrates easily into IoT devices.

Compatible with terrestrial ISM-band LoRaWans, the module incorporates the LR1120 chipset from Semtech making it portable and capable of roaming anywhere within the satellite footprint, which spans the European continent.

“Big data are the new currency in a world of accelerating change,” said Melia. “The rapid collection, processing and management of data are vital for optimising industrial processes and changing society through innovation, whether by supporting the wider development of smart cities or the transition to renewable energy. Achieving the full potential of IoT means accessing data from thousands of machines, factories or distribution facilities, however remote, and bringing it to a central point for analysis and insight. The EchoStar Mobile satellite-enabled LoRa network enables industries to use IoT in innovative ways that can transform their operations.”

The early adopter programme will run through 2022 with commercial availability expected around the end of the year.

EchoStar Mobile, a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation, is an Irish company with commercial operations headquarters based in the UK, a data centre in Griesheim, Germany, and a converged satellite and terrestrial network covering the UK, Europe and Scandinavia.