For most of us, 2020 is a year best left behind, but, despite the challenges, Wi-SUN Alliance has continued to make great progress. Wi-SUN technology, particularly Wi-SUN FAN, has contributed to the growth of Internet of Things deployments, in smart cities and smart utility industries and we expect this to continue into 2021 and beyond.
Some of the highlights of 2020 include:
Delivering Interoperability: In January at DistribuTECH 2020, Wi-SUN Alliance member companies collaborated in a demonstration showcasing a multi-vendor Wi-SUN FAN network. The demonstration featured certified Wi-SUN FAN devices from multiple vendors distributed across the show floor at both the manufacturers’ booths and at the Wi-SUN booth. We have now extended this and are pleased to debut a new video of the Wi-SUN FAN interop demonstration.
Continued Growth: Our global membership continues to grow with over 250 members representing 26 countries. Read more: https://wi-sun.org/press/arm-and-silicon-labs-join-wi-sun-board-of-directors/. We now have more than 200 certified products, including more than 40 Wi-SUN FAN 1.0 certified products.
Industry Partnerships: The DLMS User Association published the Wi-SUN Field Area Network (FAN) communications profile in the latest edition of their specifications (Blue and Green books). Read more: https://wi-sun.org/press/dlms-user-association-publishes-wi-sun-communications-profile-to-ensure-seamless-interoperability-for-utilities/
Wi-SUN Deployment: In November we spoke at the LuxLive Virtual Event at which we highlighted the City of London case study, driven by Giles Radford from the City of London, Itron and Wi-SUN Alliance. Please watch the video and LuxLive presentation here https://wi-sun.org/latest-news/wi-sun-technology-provides-the-platform-for-city-of-london-smart-city-initiative/
As we kick off 2021, we are looking forward to seeing the increased adoption of Wi-SUN FAN products by electric, gas and water utilities, not just for metering, but supporting fully integrated “smart utility networks”.
As well as the utility industry, a growing number of cities are recognizing the benefits of deploying Wi-SUN FAN street light canopy networks which provide a communications infrastructure offering excellent coverage and connectivity, and that can easily be extended with a range of both line and battery powered environmental sensors, including traffic sensing, parking management, air quality monitoring, weather sensors and more.
We feel optimistic that the Wi-SUN Alliance ecosystem of interoperable products for large-scale industrial IoT applications will continue to grow throughout 2021. Our working groups are making great progress which includes the next phase of the FAN specification, delivering higher data rates with lower latency as well as support for battery powered devices These enhancements will extend the range of applications for which Wi-SUN FAN is well suited.
We look forward you another successful year and we greatly appreciate our members and their continued investment in the Wi-SUN Alliance and Wi-SUN technology.