Expanding its footprint in the booming Internet-of-Things (IoT) sector, TÜV Rheinland has been accredited as the exclusive independent testing service provider for Sigfox Monarch-based connectivity solutions in Asia Pacific and Greater China.
TÜV Rheinland’s laboratory in Taiwan now offers manufacturers of IoT eco-system products, a one-stop solution to secure global Sigfox network certification testing. This enables regional players at every part of the IoT chain – from sensor and module makers to turnkey solution developers, or system integration OEMs – to cut costs and reduce time-to-market by eliminating the need to travel to Europe, or go through separate qualification processes for each country or region.
“As the market for sensor and transmission products explodes due to breakthroughs in IoT technology, TÜV Rheinland is playing a key role. Offering exclusive Sigfox Ready®, Sigfox Verified®, and wireless certification testing for countries around the world, enables customers in Asia Pacific and Greater China to seize the initiative in the competitive global IoT market,” said Brenda Chen, Senior Project Manager at TÜV Rheinland Taiwan.
Chen noted that TÜV Rheinland actually completed its first Sigfox Verified Monarch testing project in 2019.
Sigfox uses extremely low power, ultra-narrow band technology that exploits available unlicensed radio spectrum to create wide area network connections. The IoT pioneer has built a global network that is capable of listening to billions of devices broadcasting data, and which can pick up transmissions at distances of up to 50 kilometers.
Because they use so little energy, Sigfox-based solutions are suitable for a wide range of applications, from logistics tracking and manufacturing supply chain management, to smart home technologies, such as power meters, water meters and gas gauges.
“Sigfox is the most energy efficient IoT technology in the world. Its latest Monarch protocol looks set to replace expensive GPS/GNSS navigation systems for positioning within radio configuration (RC) Zone 1~7, which runs from Europe to South, Central and North America, the Asia Pacific, Japan, South Korea, India and recently added Russia. This cross-regional connection enables the Sigfox Monarch protocol to offer customers the seamless convenience of global roaming, without the need to change a SIM card. All they have to do is join the Sigfox network, which automatically pinpoints their geolocation,” said Grace Yang, Section Manager Electrical, Greater China at TÜV Rheinland Taiwan.
The new IoT technology has proven itself in a host of situations where remote monitoring is a critical requirement. For example, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) already uses Sigfox as part of its White Rhino protection program. TÜV Rheinland expects more innovative applications to appear in the near future.
“TÜV Rheinland is ready to support any innovations that product developers can imagine and engineers can put together. Our Sigfox Monarch accredited IoT lab in Taiwan offers a full range of testing capabilities – from the communication protocols of radio-frequency hardware to the transmission performance of antennas – to help customers capture a share of the fast growing global market for interconnected products,” said Arvin Ho, Vice General Manager Electrical, Greater China at TÜV Rheinland Taiwan.