The network on the islands, which sit some 2,000 miles north of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean, will reportedly run several smart island use cases including energy metering, water management, air quality streetlight operation and emergency notifications including tsunami sirens.
The deployment is the latest phase of a joint collaboration between ICTnexus and advanced algorithms supplier Semtech. The new IoT platform will feature Semtech’s LoRa devices as well as a LoRaWAN network for the islands’ infrastructure.
According to ICTnexus, the deployment makes it the first energy management systems using LoRaWAN on a Pacific island.
Tai Kauraka Tangaroa, chief executive officer at ICTnexus, said: “Scalability was key in choosing the right technology to develop the Cook Islands into truly Smart Islands.
“As we start with Rarotonga for launch, building IoT infrastructure across 15 islands is no simple task, but the strong capabilities of Semtech’s LoRa devices and LoRaWAN standard provide an ease of deployment and scalability. ICTnexus and Semtech are bringing the Smart Island concept to life with the Cook Islands.”
The duo claim the long-distance communication capability of LoRaWAN is ideal for this type of project, connecting all IoT-enabled devices for applications for the islands’ power grids, utility meters, gas meters, turbidity sensors for the water treatment plant, water flow and treatment sensors, water tank level sensors, wastewater monitors, and smart water meters.
Marc Pégulu, vice president at Semtech, said: “The concept of a smart island is no longer a concept as the potential of LoRa and the LoRaWAN standard continues to be embraced worldwide. The Cook Islands’ investment for a robust IoT-based infrastructure with LoRaWAN is a great move to improve the lives of its citizens.”
