Inmarsat and Actility team to deploy smart city network in Rwanda
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Inmarsat and Actility team to deploy smart city network in Rwanda

Satellite communications firm Inmarsat has partnered with Actility to deploy LoRaWAN infrastructure around the city of Kigali in Rwanda.

LoRaWAN – or long range wide area network – is a low powered, wide area network (LPWAN) solution seen as a key development in the internet of things (IoT).

The Actility solution deployed by Inmarsat will make up part of a project to turn the Rwandan capital city into a smart city, and will operate initially for a year, providing connectivity for IoT solutions. Potential applications include transport, utilities, health, and education solutions.

The project will also see Inmarsat, along with partners including Actility and Jersey Telecom, deploy a number of proof of concepts and demonstrations around Kigali. 

Paul Gudonis, President, Inmarsat Enterprise, elaborated on the significance of the smart city initiative: “Whilst many commentators have enthused about the possibilities of the IoT for the urban environment, from increasing utility usage efficiency to enabling a smooth network of autonomous cars, the reality is that it is still relatively untested and in its infancy. 

“Kigali is taking the lead with its smart city project, creating an IoT ecosystem where both private and government organisations can experiment with this technology in a vibrant and lively city. The project will therefore begin to take the potential of this exciting technology beyond futurist visions and into a real-world scenario and we look forward to seeing the creativity of Kigali's many entrepreneurs, students, and businesses unleashed on the IoT network.”

The project will make up part of the “Transform Africa Summit”. Inmarsat hopes to use the Rwandan city as a blueprint for smart cities deployments throughout Africa.

Actility, an IoT solutions company, said that IoT can help to transform cities, industries and agriculture.

Actility CEO Mike Mulica: “We think IoT can change people’s lives for the better, and nowhere more so than here in Africa. We’ve come here to learn, and are proud to support this initial network rollout as the foundation on which smart cities across Africa will be able to build better futures for their citizens.”

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