Sigfox

Sigfox is a company based in France that has developed a cellular style, ultra low power, long-range networking technology. It is intended for small messages that are sent infrequently. Data rates are very low at 100 bits per second (tops). The signals used can travel up to 25 miles, and a base station can handle up to a million nodes. Similar to cellular, it is not intended to be for private networks, as it requires coverage in the area to use it.

Sigfox devices can be very low cost due to low complexity and power requirements. Power requirements could be as low as one thousandth of equivalent cellular communications. It has been used in inexpensive, but crucial, things such as smoke detectors and a fitness tracking collar for dogs (seriously).

The current coverage includes the entirety of France and Spain, several other pockets in Europe, and some metropolitan areas in North America.