Actility, a provider of IoT (internet of things) network infrastructure, has announced the acquisition of Acklio, a provider of SCHC (static context header compression) technology for LPWAN (low power wide area network) networks.

This acquisition will further expand Actility’s position as a provider of end-to-end IoT solutions and will enable the company to offer a broader range of IP-based IoT applications over LPWAN networks.

Acklio’s SCHC technology is a key enabler for IP-based IoT over LPWAN networks. SCHC compresses the IP header, which reduces the amount of data that needs to be transmitted over the network. This makes it possible to run IP-based applications over LPWAN networks, which are characterised by low data rates and long battery life.

The acquisition of Acklio will allow Actility to offer range of IP-based IoT applications over LPWAN networks. These applications include:

• Smart metering: several meter vendors already adopted Acklio SCHC technology to connect standards-based DLMS/COSEM metres to LoRaWAN and NB-IoT (NarrowBand-internet of things) network.
• Smart industry: protocols such as ModBus/TCP (transmission control protocol) can be carried transparently and efficiently over LoRaWAN networks using SCHC header compression.
• Smart buildings: KNX/IP and other IP protocols for building automation which do not have yet long-range RF transport layers can be deployed over LoRaWAN campus IoT networks without any modification.
• Electric vehicle charging: an Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) has become the de-facto standard for smart charge point control, but it is difficult to deploy IP networks in underground parking lots. LoRaWAN networks are a perfect solution and SCHC provides the required adaptation layer for OCPP.

Actility is also committed to keeping Acklio’s SCHC technology open and licensable to all industry players. This will help to accelerate the adoption of IP-based IoT over LPWAN networks, and to create a more open and interoperable IoT ecosystem. With SCHC, the notion of internet of everything truly becomes a reality.

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