Swarm satellites to serve planet
February 1, 2021
By Chris Forrester
In December 2018 Swarm Technologies was hit with a $900,000 fine by the FCC for an unlawful and unauthorised launch of four tiny, sandwich-sized satellites.
Swarm might now be having a winning smile on its face because its network of Internet of Things (IoT) global coverage with 72 commercial satellites already providing 100 per cent global coverage. Swarm says it will have extended its orbital fleet with a total of 150 satellites by the end of this year.
Swarm has integrated user-terminals from Semtech for its connectivity solutions which enables two-way communications with its low-Earth orbiting satellites. “Because Semtech’s LoRa technology is well suited for long-distance, low power, and wide-area coverage applications, it has opened up new Internet of Things (IoT) use cases for Swarm in areas such as logistics, agriculture, connected cars, and energy,” said Ben Longmier, CTO and co-founder of Swarm. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Semtech by utilising LoRa to help us provide affordable global connectivity for IoT devices at an unprecedented scale.”
The Semtech modems communicate with the satellites enabling reliable data transfer anywhere on Earth, at all times, said a joint release from Swarm and Semtech.
“Semtech and Swarm are working jointly to pursue commercial IoT applications that require less data-intensive communications and fill in the gaps of the existing satellite market,” said Marc Pegulu, Vice President of IoT Product Marketing for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group. “The combination of our technologies helps provide reliable and affordable connectivity that keep sensors, equipment, and assets connected across land and sea.”