UK consortium to launch IoT network
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UK consortium to launch IoT network

A consortium of UK technology firms, including BT and Neul, have today announced an agreement to build a city-wide, open-access internet of things (IoT) network in Milton Keynes, UK.

Other consortium members include Connected Digital Economy Catapult, Future Cities Catapult, Milton Keynes Council and the Open University, all of which have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the project.

The project will look to construct a network for M2M communications and IoT, to demonstrate the ability of such infrastructure in dealing with large numbers of static and mobile sensors.

“As well as providing a test-bed for our own specific use cases, this will bring new innovation and business development to the city, creating an ecosystem of IoT development,” said Geoff Snelson, director of strategy at Milton Keynes Council.

BT and Neul are suppliers and managers of the technology, and they will work with the Milton Keynes Council to install a network of base stations across the city for low power, connected sensors.

“We see this exciting project as a means of establishing an open innovation environment to support the creation of M2M and IoT applications across a whole city,” said Alan Ward head of corporate ICT practice at BT. “This could include anything from intelligent monitoring of parking spaces in the city to networked bins which signal when they need collecting.”

The project has an estimated 18-month completion period and is expected to remain as a long-term development environment and platform for IoT innovation.

In January this year, Neul launched NeulNET, a networking solution for the IoT.

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