Invested in SIGFOX

NTT DOCOMO Ventures, Inc. (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan; President & CEO: Minoru Etoh) today announced its investment, through the investment fund it operates, in SIGFOX (headquartered in Labége, France; CEO: Ludovic Le Moan, hereinafter referred to as “SIGFOX”) that offers Low-Power Wide-Area (LPWA) network services for M2M using sub-GHz bands.

1.Overview of the investment

NTT DOCOMO Ventures, through the investment fund it operates, completed the investment by joining the funding round for SIGFOX.

2.Background

SIGFOX has developed and provides LPWA network service that enables two-way transmission of small quantities of data, which requires very little energy which is critical in M2M communication. While various wireless technologies (e.g. Bluetooth LE, Wi-Fi, ZigBee and Cellular) are available in IoT space, SIGFOX’s complements those tools by offering low-cost and energy-efficient connectivity that greatly extends the battery and service life of connected devices. It therefore supports widespread adoption of the IoT. SIGFOX’s network has been deployed in France, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and soon the United States, covering about 2 million square-kilometers. It will strengthen partnerships with enterprises in Europe, America and Asia to accelerate its global deployment. The company’s technology is used in diverse fields, including housing, automobiles, transportation/distribution and smart cities. It is also expected to be introduced in even broader fields in the future, including healthcare. We believe that the track record and innovativeness of SIGFOX will allow itself to grow as need of low cost LPWA connectivity increases in accelerating IoT business in the near future.