Sigfox has reportedly filed for an initial 6 months bankruptcy protection!!! Looks like managed to burn through their $300M+ investment…
Sad to see a fellow tech & IOT traveller fail… but cant help but smile a little as it (potentially) removes some competition from the low traffic end of the LoRaWAN & TTN use cases… lets hope any disappointment or concerns raised dont rub off as concerns for the wider LPWAN/IOT ecosystem in general…
… now …how can we recruit/convert some of the Sigfox GW sites?!
Signs of stress had been there for nearly 2 years with their UK operation effectively stopping site rental payments back in 2020 as Covid started to bite and with the companies Auditors raising a big note of caution for their future as a going concern back in September, warning they would go insolvent without a fresh cash injection!
Same Story on Yahoo Finance:
In their last accounts filing the company posted a net loss of nearly €91 million on revenues of just over €24 million, and financial debts of €118 million.
Actually looks like they want to limp along for a while with service still up (6mo+?) whilst they restructure debt and look for fresh money… good luck to them…
So may still have some utility…but if in doubt…Recycle responsibly of course!
Looks like ‘responsible disclosure’ initially went out the window but they have now recanted due to web protests and commentaries, esp around potential blocking in response to spreading the word… might be worth checking haveibeenpwned listings
Final judgement on the fate of Sigfox and any final winning bidder delayed a further week……was expected today April 14th now likely April 21st.
Translation from La Triubune Toulouse:
Placed in receivership since the end of January, Toulouse startup Sigfox will finally know its buyer on April 21. The Toulouse Commercial Court is giving itself another week to seal the future of the company specialising in the Internet of Things,
Insteon - Another cautionary tail (?) of why if it’s “in the cloud” you don’t own it only borrow it and not to leave yourself or your devices solely dependent on a server not under your own control, without back-up options and alternatives……… so many ‘connected’ devices and services finally they come a cropper…… when buying in to these solutions ask yourself do you really think the company will keep this running forever, well at least the physically useful life of the bit you own and at your convenience, or will they disappear, collapse or simply turn off as not economic for them or inconvenient to maintain?
Interesting new development from the L-A team. Looks like the development of SCHC was key to implementation. Good solution for people looking for IP addressable devices……especially e.g. DLMS/smart metering type apps…… let’s hope no one gets carried away and assumes right now for my gigabit Ethernet pipe over LoRa! No folks it’s not about high speed
Because a 64 bit EUI doesn’t cut it compared to an IPv6 address???
For various values of seamlessly - now we need gateways that are routers and Network Servers that IPv6 aware - which will all take time to evolve.
From the press release:
To see a live demonstration of IPv6 over LoRaWAN and to learn more about LoRaWAN and the work of the LoRa Alliance, please join us at the LoRaWAN World Expo taking place in Paris July 6-7.
Shameless attempt to get people to come and see future tech??
Some organisations and deployment use cases mandate/demand/prefer IP based implementations…this is about expanding the addressable ('scuse the pun!) market for LoRaWAN
Of course making nodes part of the IP network doesn’t open them up to a whole new list of potential attacks. IP based IoT devices have such a good security records that we urgently need this additional attack surface added to our infrastructure.
Or am I being overly sarcastic?
So let them come up with an interface layer on what already exists - like a Packet Forwarder - where the IP address is virtual at the point of interface which then translates that in to pure LoRaWAN.
The tech industry, as per @kersing’s understated opinion, has an excellent track record in making things more complicated than they need be in the first place, leaving a sorry trail of engineering flaws in its wake, then you add in an “extended & embrace” philosophy and you end up with a good idea borked beyond belief as people try to shoe-horn in more functionality.
Why do they do that? Because of empire expansion? A recurring theme throughout history that we never really learn the lessons.
Imagine what SMTP/POP3 and FTP would look like now if there had been a funded industry body setup to oversee its development …
Semtech to acquire Sierra Wireless in all cash deal at $31/share (approx 25% premium over Fridays close) for enterprise value of $1.2Bn. Strategic move that expands Semtech’s serviceable market and follows complimentary strategy of LoRa aligned with and complimenting cellular deployments. SW has strong and large competition (per Electronics Weekly: Sierra has a 3.3% share of the cellular module market but it is up against Quectel which has a 39.3% share, Sunsea which has a 13.4% share and Telit Cinterion with a 5.8% share) so not a home run and some risk to competing with potential customers (other module and system manufacturer’s)? I’ve watched Mohan make some shrewed buys over the last 10-20 years, some worked well (Cycleo (LoRa), Gennum (Datacom/Broadcast interfaces) and others) others less so over time. Suspect this one could be a good move (Just MHO)
Google kills off another product/service…not sure this will impact any TTN Community users but heads up none the less! Claim just 72 ‘customers’ so unlikely…still key message is be wary of using 3rd party cloudy services as a core component of your product solution/offering - if you can do it yourself or atleast use open standards and protocols and have a plan B ready (and a plan C?!) just in case you need to migrate!
What can I say?! … you should have consulted with me before parting with your beer tokens! 
when buying in to these solutions ask yourself do you really think the company will keep this running forever, well at least the physically useful life of the bit you own and at your convenience, or will they disappear, collapse or simply turn off as not economic for them or inconvenient to maintain?