A Clever Plan to Build a Nationwide Network for the Internet of Things

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The “Internet of Things” can’t reach its true potential, many believe, unless we have better ways of bringing all these clever new devices online.

That’s why Nest and Samsung just introduced a new wireless networking standard called Thread—a radio technology designed specifically for thermostats, fire alarms, and other devices in the home—and it’s why a new startup called Iotera is trying to crowdsource a new nationwide wireless network for devices that operate outside the home. Like many other outfits, Iotera believes we need something more than ordinary Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and cellular networks if we’re going to bring things like keychains and backpacks online, but the company aims to make this happen in a unique way.

If you leave your dog in the car, you could monitor the temperature to make sure it doesn’t get too hot.

This morning, the company released its first product on Kickstarter. Called the Iota, it’s a small device that can act as a location tracker, GPS, temperature sensor, accelerometer, and more. You could put one on your dog’s collar, in your kid’s backpack, in your car, or on your keychain to not only track the location of the device, but monitor its surroundings. If you leave your dog in the car, for example, you could monitor the temperature to make sure it doesn’t get too hot. But the clever part is that Iota is also includes a wireless base station that connects those devices to the internet.

Each station has a range of 3 to 4 miles, and it can communicate with any Iota device within range, including those owned by other people. The base station transmits messages from the devices back to Iotera’s servers, which relay the information to the appropriate users. Three miles is plenty of range for many applications, but eventually, the company hopes to take this a step further. Since every base station can be used by any Iota device, each user is essentially providing coverage for every other user within range. As more users come online, the wider the coverage will be. Eventually, Wild says, he hopes that the company can achieve nationwide coverage.

More Range for the Internet of Things

This isn’t Wild’s first foray into the Internet of Things. In 2006, he co-founded Wirama, a wireless location tracking company that was acquired by security company Checkpoint in 2009. Wirama specialized in RFID—radio-frequency identification—a technology widely used for electronic locks, contactless payments, tracking inventory in retail stores and warehouses, and other short-range wireless applications. After leaving the company, Wild and an early Wirama employee named Rob Barton started thinking what to do next. “RFID was very cheap, but the range was only about 30-40 feet,” says Wild. “So we were thinking about what you could do if you could have a range of a few miles.”

Wild and Barton hit on the idea of using the unlicensed 902 to 920 MHz radio band to transmit small amounts of data, and Iotera was born. Unlike the bands used by Wi-Fi or LTE internet services, this band won’t be useful for heavy internet usage. But Wild says it’s perfect for the Iota, which only needs to send a small amount of data. In order to avoid the need to send frequent data streams, the device will handle much of the monitoring locally. For example, if you use it for temperature monitoring, it will only transmit a message when the temperature rises above a certainly level instead of frequently sending the temperature readings to your computer.

Wild is hoping this approach will help the startup compete with other, more established companies. Wild says that because there’s no monthly fee for using an Iota, it should be cheaper than subscription based services from companies like Tagg and Whistle. And because of the range afforded by Iotera’s technology, he thinks it will be able to compete with the Bluetooth-based Tile, which is less expensive than Iota, but has a maximum range of about 150 feet. Although Tile is also hoping to extend its network by letting its devices piggy back on any nearby smart phone that has Tile running, Wild argues Iotera’s longer range base stations could provide much more coverage area, making it far more likely that a device will come in contact with another user’s signal.

Tennis Courts That Know When They’re Free

Eventually, he wants Iota used for far more than just helping individual people find their keys. “We’d like to see Iota in public places,” he says. “Tennis courts and basketball courts could let you know if they’re available. We’ve thought about pollution sensors that could benefit the community.”

That vision will ultimately rest on selling enough devices to build a full, nationwide network. “It’s plausible,” says Brough Turner, the founder of Boston area wireless internet service netBlazr. “The IoT typically implies low data rates, so a lot of devices can share the same spectrum.” And because Iotera will be able to use digital signal processing to filter out noise, Turner says that the base stations should be able to use unlicensed spectrum, even in the case of heavy interference.

Those are the technical aspects. But the social aspect may prove to be a bigger challenge. Historically, people have balked at sharing their internet service with other people. But unlike a traditional Wi-Fi network, which could be used for everything from streaming Netflix to torrenting illegal content, Iotera’s network will be useful only by Iota devices, which will have a very limited range of uses—at least in the beginning. And fortunately, a single base station at home will suffice for many applications, so the device could be useful even if no one else in your city ever buys one.