Australian company Gold Coast TechSpace (GCTechSpace) has partnered with two other local companies – PSA Engineering and Refactor – to launch the Gold Coast’s first public access Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LoRaWAN). Following on from extensive trials, GCTechSpace in Mudgeeraba will host the first LoRaWAN gateway as part of the project’s stage one rollout. Five more gateways will be rolled out by the end of the year as part of stage one, providing coverage for the residential and commercial areas along the coast. The first quarter of 2017 will see three more gateways deployed, based on use cases and in collaboration with local user groups and partners. PSA Engineering’s Industrial IT unit will perform the implementation, and will be able to enhance its existing smart city development work, which already includes initiatives focused on smart metering, intelligent lighting, smart waste management and environmental monitoring. Refactor’s range of sensors are already compatible with LoRaWAN networks, and will be one of the first commercial product manufacturers to make use of the Gold Coast LoRaWAN network. Similar to other LoRaWAN deployments around the country, GCTechSpace is encouraging interested parties to participate and host their own gateways to increase the network’s range. GCTechSpace president Steve Dalton said in a statement: “Residents of the Gold Coast will now be able to connect their low-power sensor devices to the Internet with a much greater range than Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and with a small fraction of the cost of cellular networks.” PSA Engineering’s principal architect Grant Faber added: “IoT is an important building block for the future of our people, smart connected cities and quality of life. The development of IoT holds tremendous transformative value and PSA Engineering is proud to be working at the forefront of this innovation.”
Australia ’s Gold Coast TechSpace has partnered with PSA Engineering and Refractor to release a public access Low - cost Wide - Area Network ( LoRaWAN ) on the country ’s Gold Coast . The first gateway will roll out in Mudgeeraba with five further gateways for locations along the coast to be rolled out by year - end , and three more deployed in early 2018 based on use cases .