Cyberjaya all set to be SEA’s first LoRa-powered smart city

• LoRa a low-power, long-range technology designed to meet IoT demands
• Cyberview inviting ecosystem partners with IoT-ready apps to be part of it

 
CYBERVIEW Sdn Bhd and Atilze Digital Sdn Bhd, the information communications technology (ICT) arm of Yen Global Bhd, are partnering to build, operate and commercialise a city-wide long-range (LoRa) network in Cyberjaya.
 
This would bring Cyberjaya one step closer to becoming the first LoRA-powered smart city in South-East Asia, the two companies said after signing a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) in Kuala Lumpur yesterday (Aug 18).

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LoRa is a low-power, long-range wide area network (LPWAN) technology that is designed to meet the demands of Internet of Things (IoT) applications and services by connecting devices such as sensors over a wide area.
 
“Around this time last year, we set out to develop Cyberjaya into a model ‘Smart and Safe City’ through the IoT,” said Cyberview managing director Faris Yahaya (pic above).
 
“With this collaboration, Cyberview and Atilze will be working together to elevate the city towards becoming a ‘living lab’ to nurture and grow IoT talents and businesses,” he added.
 
The collaboration is aligned to the National IoT Strategic Roadmap that aims to contribute RM9.5 billion (US$2.5 billion) to the country’s gross national income (GNI) and RM42.5 (US$11.2 billion) by 2025.

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Under the terms of the MoC, Atilze will supply and install LoRA gateways and antenna systems, while Cyberview will provide access to its properties in Cyberjaya including towers and building rooftops.
 
“Using LoRa technology, we will enable a cost-effective means of implementing viable and relevant IoT applications in Cyberjaya to enhance urban management,” said Atilze chief executive officer Gerard Lim.
 
“In fact, half of the system is already up and running now, and the other half will be ready in a couple of days. We will go through some testing and be ready to go live in the coming few weeks,” he added.
 
Faris invited IoT ecosystem partners to approach Cyberview and integrate their ready IoT applications to be LoRa-enabled and deployed on Cyberjaya’s network.
 
“We will not be charging any of these ecosystem partners should they be interested in coming in,” added Lim. “All we want to do is to demonstrate that these applications are ready to be implemented in Cyberjaya.”
 
Lim said there are already interested parties that want to deploy their applications in Cyberjaya’s LoRa network, with at least a dozen ecosystem partners. Among them is a home security application that would be deployed in some of the houses in Cyberjaya.
 
He also said that the initial IoT applications will focus on smart city elements such as intelligent street lighting, smart parking solutions, asset trackers, and security.
 
Some examples include a smart traffic light system that turns green for a car when there is no other traffic around. There are also environmental monitors like a water and air quality sensor to detect the current water levels in a lake or reservoir and measure the air pollution index.
 

 
Lim (pic above) said the LoRa network’s coverage was between 5km and 15km, which is more than enough to cover the entire 7,000-acre land that makes up Cyberjaya.
 
The Asia Pacific region is said to be the leader in IoT adoption according to studies conducted by Forrester Consulting and International Data Corporation (IDC).
 
This is further supported by statistics by Frost & Sullivan that the total spending for IoT in the Asia Pacific is estimated at US$10 billion in 2014 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34.1% to reach US$59 billion by 2020.
 
Atilze said it will continue to manage, operate and provide maintenance, service and support services for its LoRa network in Cyberjaya.
 
Apart from Cyberjaya, Atilze is aiming to deploy LoRa networks in other major cities across Malaysia, and has set its sights on the Klang Valley next.
 
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