French start-up Sigfox faces 5G juggernaut in Internet of Things
PARIS (Reuters) - French start-up Sigfox, which builds networks to connect washing machines and other objects to the internet, says it is struggling to meet its growth targets due to high expectations for alternative, forthcoming 5G services.
Employees work on computers at the French start-up Sigfox offices in Paris, France, February 14, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
The company, whose shareholders include French oil major Total and U.S. group Salesforce.com, missed its revenue target last year, CEO Ludovic Le Moan told Reuters on Wednesday, but it still sees good prospects for its technology and aims to break even in the fourth quarter of this year.
If it reaches that target, it could seek a stock market listing, Le Moan said in an interview.
Sigfox seeks to tap into the burgeoning so-called Internet of Things (IoT) sector where it faces competition from two other emerging networks: LoRa, backed by French telecom operator Orange and equipment maker Cisco Systems, and NB-IoT, which is backed by Japan’s Softbank.
These three companies’ wireless networks enable devices to transfer small volumes of data over a wide area while maintaining battery life over many years, whereas 5G services can carry much bigger volumes but cost a lot more.
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