Over 120 million connected digital devices able to 'talk' to each other may soon be part of everyday life in New Zealand.
Aaron Olphert, chief digital officer of the specialist telecommunications company Kordia, says he believes there is potential for up to 126 million devices and sensors to ultimately be connected in homes and businesses.
Products ranging from smart light bulbs, refrigerators and doorbells in the home to remote water sensors enabling city authorities to monitor drainage networks during storms, to connected trackers able to send SOS messages from runners, hikers or skiers are all examples of what is coming.
All this is possible, says Olphert, because of new low-power network technologies enabling devices to connect to the Internet of Things (IOT) - including the global Sigfox network - which is now complete and is accessible to 94 per cent of the country's population.
"The forecast average number of connected devices for every person on the planet is 28," says Olphert. "That would mean we can expect somewhere around 126 million here based on our population; right now we probably have around two or three per person."
While the number sounds staggering, on a global scale it is quite modest. Already the global internet market is worth about $US194 billion and according to online statistics and market research portal Statista 30 billion devices will be connected worldwide by 2020 and 75 billion by 2025.
Sigfox, which covers all major cities and regions throughout New Zealand, is operated by Thinxtra and was built by Kordia (the company has also been building Spark's LoRAWAN IOT network) and has already opened the way for a number of smart city and agricultural projects.
Olphert says one of the best examples is in Christchurch where the council is operating a system of smart waste bins. Ultrasonic sensors under the lid measure how full the bins are enabling the council to more efficiently route its collection trucks.
"It results in a better use of resources and may also mean less trucks will be needed on the roads at certain times," says Olphert. "The community also gets a better service with highly utilised bins more frequently emptied."
Other projects include the monitoring of speed signs in parts of the North Island, water tank level measuring on farms in the Waikato, while farmers will also have the ability to check on the condition of their stock and measure water quality.
Olphert says Sigfox is specifically designed for applications requiring devices with long battery life and is ideal for things like asset GPS tracking and status, temperature, movement, humidity and light monitoring. It provides valuable data to businesses on any device, anywhere at any time; and is a low-power, long range network able to deliver messages as far as 150km out to sea.
He says there are many benefits for IOT users: It is low cost, efficient and, by automating a lot of tasks, allows businesses to focus more of their time and energy on goals and the bigger picture rather than the day-to-day.
Despite the potential benefits Olphert says many businesses are still not sure how to get started with IOT: "Many are trying to break through the hype surrounding it and probably find it all a bit mind-boggling.
"They are getting bombarded with information and it can all become too hard. But we have found that once we talk to them they act pretty quickly, can see the value in it and are happy to invest," he says.
Olphert says because there are so many opportunities and solutions considering what to do can often lead to organisational "paralysis by analysis". For this reason he recommends businesses identify individual projects to start with.
"There is a perception that IOT isn't for everyone but we believe there is a case for its use by every business, big or small," he says. "It's just that it hasn't yet been discovered."
To help companies make these decisions, Kordia has launched www.kordiathings.io a new website designed to make it easier for businesses to trial IOT and see what works best for them. It includes products and examples of smart uses across a number of sectors including agriculture, health, the environment and the running of cities.