Street lighting sensory network in Swaziland

gridComm, a leader in smart street light solutions and IoT sensor networks, has partnered with investment firm Somerset Group to install smart street lighting sensory networks across the Kingdom of Swaziland — a developing country flanked by the Republic of South Africa and the Republic of Mozambique.

gridComm’s smart street lighting sensory network technology delivers intelligent, eco-friendly lighting to Swaziland, saving energy and money while also limiting carbon emissions. Based on the existing street lighting infrastructure, the technology establishes a ready-to-use Internet of Things (IoT) sensory network which can be used to monitor crops, weather and more via data analytics. This will assist Swaziland’s farming communities by helping to optimise productivity and increase agricultural output.

“By deploying gridComm’s solution, the practice of sending engineering experts physically out into the field to fix connectivity issues becomes a thing of the past, as they can now be remotely monitored,” said gridComm CEO Mike Holt.

The sensory network system is built with hybrid communication technologies comprising a next-generation multichannel OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access) power line communication (PLC) transceiver (gridComm’s GC2200) and a wireless physical layer. gridComm uses its PLC and digital power supply technologies to convert traditional street lighting into energy-aware and remotely managed and monitored web-based networks. PLC is said to be more reliable than wireless technologies for street light control — particularly low-power radiofrequency technologies — which are more prone to interference in outdoor environments.

Because many IoT sensors run on batteries, hybrid power line and wireless communication technology ensures connectivity between these sensors when they are in the vicinity of smart street lights. With gridComm, IoT sensors can be introduced to the network as they are needed. The company’s modules are designed to automatically attach to the nearest gateway without on-site tuning or configuration for true plug-and-play connectivity.

“For a developing country like Swaziland, adopting the right technology solutions is crucial to shaping a sustainable environment,” said Henri Thompson, group managing director of Somerset Group, South Africa. “We envision that gridComm’s smart technology will deliver the data analytics needed to boost crop yields and positively affect Swaziland’s economic development.”

“Our technology has been thoroughly proven to be exceptionally robust and reliable, and our recent successes in more than 12 cities across Asia underscore this fact,” added Holt. “We look forward to delivering more deployments in Swaziland and other parts of Africa in conjunction with Somerset Group.”

Top image courtesy of thomas under CC BY-SA 2.0