In the world of smart cities and IoT, LonMark PLC is proving to be a strong partner for inteliLIGHT’s smart street lighting solution.
Brasov, ROMANIA, March 22, 2018
Although the entire street lighting control business is assaulted by IoT-dedicated RF communication technologies, the two technologies successfully coexist in large scale implementations. Flashnet has implemented tens of thousands or PLC luminaire controllers in the last few years, in projects ranging from one thousand to twenty thousand lamps. So, what is the place of PLC IoT in the world of Lora, Sigfox or Zigbee?
As some might say, new RF communication infrastructures have little implementation history. They can be easier and cheaper to deploy, certainly available as an option for early adopters; but investing in unproven technologies might seem like a lottery game for a major city. And this is where PLC excels. Hundreds of thousands of controllers in hundreds of cities around the world, from Mecca to Dubai Water Canal, from major cities in Romania to Malaysia’s Penang bridge.
However, there are RF technologies that have surpassed the first glitches and tests and offer quite reliable communication infrastructures, despite the initial doubtful approach of the street lighting control market. Won’t they be replacing PLC, or will they coexist? PLC has still a lot to show even when compared to LPWAN communications: higher bitrate, low interference and stable connection are only some of its advantages – for example, PLC offers real-time feedback and lamp control, performance that most LPWAN technologies cannot really pride with. And there is more – radio communications are sometimes limited by high density city areas, special locations (tunnels, for example) and can be complemented by PLC communication.
“With inteliLIGHT, we can integrate RF and PLC communications into the same project, based on the actual field conditions and customer requirements. So, whenever local conditions demanded it, we mixed successfully mixed both technologies, and we are honoured that LonMark has acknowledged our efforts by appointing us ‘member of the month’” stated Mr. Lorand Mozes, CEO of Flashnet.