Kyocera Corporation (President: Hideo Tanimoto) announced today that its subsidiary, Kyocera Communication Systems Co., Ltd. (KCCS) has started providing Internet of Things (IoT) network services in Japan based on the Sigfox global IoT network. The service is now available in Tokyo, Kawasaki City, Yokohama City and Osaka City, to be further planned for Japan’s 36 major cities by early 2018 and nationwide by 2020 with an annual sales target of JPY10 billion by FY2021.

The IoT market continues to grow worldwide with the number of connected devices estimated to reach around 53 billion by 2020^*1. However, there continue to be barriers to mass adoption for use in locations with no electric power source, especially for applications such as sensors with extremely low data volumes. In order to address those issues, KCCS is deploying the Sigfox LPWA (low power wide area) network which brings a breakthrough IoT solution with the lowest costs and longest battery life — two barriers to entry for many companies in Japan seeking to leverage mass IoT.

This partnership marks the first availability of the Sigfox network in the fast-growing Japanese market, which is the third largest IoT market in the world behind the U.S. and China^*2.

KCCS has formed partnerships with around 70 companies from various fields such as device makers and IoT service providers. The Sigfox network will target the following IoT services and applications in Japan:

・	Utilities: Remote meter reading and water leakage detection
・	Retail: Remote monitoring for vending machine repair and restocking
・	Environmental: Monitoring for temperature, precipitation, wind, and river levels
・	Logistics & Transportation: Container, pallet and chassis location information management
・	Assets: Tracking and tracing rental equipment in case of loss or theft
・	Medical: mHealth applications such as data collection and monitoring, and monitoring of the elderly, children and pets
・	Agricultural: Monitoring of greenhouse temperature and humidity, soil condition monitoring and machinery management

Case Studies
The service has already made an impact in Japan with a variety of applications deployed or currently being tested.

Smart Parking System with OPTEX Company Limited

Installation image Vehicle detection sensor “ViiK”				・ Coin-operated parking spaces in Tokyo use smart vehicle detection sensors connected by Sigfox. ・ Each parking space has OPTEX’s vehicle detection sensor, “ViiK,” to directly notify the cloud server of its usage and vacancy. ・ Eliminating work associated with trenching and cabling underground, the parking management system can be installed with less cost and less time.

Temperature Monitoring with Ai-Cynap Co., Ltd.

Monitoring display Temperature sensor for freezer				・ Temperature monitoring case study of home delivery pizza chain operated by Strawberry Cones. Especially, the temperature of refrigeration and freezer facilities and working space are monitored. ・ By performing the temperature monitoring more closely, it becomes possible to maintain higher food quality. ・ Temperature data, such as pizza dough, is sent to the cloud every 15 minutes and monitored with a special application.

*1 White Paper 2015 on Japan’s Information and Communications featuring “Past, Present and Future of ICT” published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
*2 Machina Research

* Product specifications and launch dates are subject to change without prior notice.
* All product names and company names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies.

About Sigfox
Sigfox is the world’s leading provider of global communication solutions powering the Internet of Things (IoT). The Sigfox network’s features include:

(1) Cost effectiveness: Low cost plan suitable for IoT use (2) Simple devices: Simple, open & royalty free technology lowering the initial cost of communication modules (3) Energy efficient: Several years of battery life (4) Global reach: One network over the world (32 countries as of March 31, 2017)

Transmission Speed	Radio System	Frequency Bands	Transmission Distance
100bps (Upload only)	Ultra narrow band	920MHz bandwidth (License-free)	Up to tens of kilometers

This news release is intended for media purposes, and is current of the date of publication. Information is subject to change without notice.

Source: Kyocera