Apr 26, 2021Kerlink, a France-based provider of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions with offices in the United States, Singapore, India and Japan, has unveiled its industrial-grade Wirnet iFemtoCell, Wirnet iFemtoCell-evolution and Wirnet iStation IoT gateways. These indoor and outdoor gateways, according to the company, enable the mining of Helium's native cryptocurrency, Helium Network Token (HNT), while supporting what Kerlink calls one of the world's first peer-to-peer wireless IoT networks based on the LoRaWAN protocol.
The global distributed network of hotspots, known as "The People's Network," was launched by U.S.-based company Helium to provide public, long-range and low-power wireless coverage for LoRaWAN-enabled IoT sensors and devices. This capability, according to Kerlink, leverages Helium's LongFi architecture, which combines the LoRaWAN wireless protocol with Helium's blockchain so that any LoRaWAN device can transfer data on the Helium network. LongFi provides roaming capabilities and supports micropayment transactions, with customers paying based on network usage without having to deploy gateways or network servers.
Targeting low-power sensors and devices such as animal collars and bicycle trackers, the network is powered by compatible hotspots—a combination of the Helium blockchain and LoRaWAN packet-routing software on a single LoRaWAN gateway. This, the firm explains, enables customers to participate in the deployment of Helium coverage, and to use the open LoRa-based wireless IoT networks. When a user is connected to a nearby hotspot, proof of coverage validates a gateway's availability and related coverage. This confirmation triggers the generation of HNT cryptocurrency using the gateway-embedded miner, thus granting community coverage for hundreds of square miles.
The open-source blockchain was launched to incentivize and accelerate the creation of physical, decentralized and public wireless networks, Kerlink explains. The company's website reports that there are already more than 25,000 hotspots in nearly 3,600 cities, with that number increasing rapidly. Thanks to the blockchain, the Helium network decentralizes IoT coverage, resulting in an open, wireless network able to combine various LoRaWAN gateways.
Kerlink's Wirnet iSeries references will be the first carrier-grade LoRaWAN gateways embedding the miner software. Kerlink has already received HIP19 approval, making it one of the few "hotspot manufacturers" or "approved makers" of the Helium community and the Decentralized Wireless Alliance to produce and distribute compatible miners to the network. The devices are available for preordering from Cal-Chip Connected Devices, one of Kerlink's U.S. value-added resellers.
"Embedding a Helium network-miner-compatible software within our gateway portfolio is another step toward diversification of Kerlink's equipment possibilities, and shows how our ongoing investment in R&D enables the company to respond quickly to evolving applications and innovative uses of LoRaWAN networks," said Yannick Delibie, the president and CEO of Kerlink Americas. "Our ability to integrate new features like Helium's blockchain technology, called 'proof of coverage,' helps ensure the algorithm can verify that the hotspots are accurately representing their location and delivering the expected wireless network coverage they are creating."
With typical LoRaWAN networks, a single entity manages a central or regional LoRaWAN network server (LNS). But as Helium's website explains, "Helium's design for a decentralized network, however, means not only do we want gateways to be independently owned and operated, but we want to enable the independent operation of the LNS. Without this, access to the network would require permission from a single central entity, the LNS operator of the network. Therefore, we want to enable the multi-tenancy of LNSs on the same public LoRaWAN network. Achieving this distinguishes Helium's LoRaWAN network from any other—public wireless infrastructure is now compatible with privately run network servers."
More than 120,000 Kerlink installations have been rolled out to date. The company offers connectivity solutions for public and private IoT networks, including network equipment, network cores, operations and management software, value-added applications and professional services. Its solutions are designed for smart cities (metering, parking, street lighting, waste management, air quality and pollution, building and facilities, and asset monitoring), smart industries (fleet and asset tracking, energy and utilities, oil and gas, mining, airports, harbors, infrastructure, manufacturing and retail), and smart territories (agriculture, environmental protection, and rural towns and areas).
