The conference LoRaWAN IoT for Digital Cities and Businesses held in Croatia

This conference brought together 120 participants, distinguished guests from various companies across Croatia and the Adria region. Representatives from leading state-owned companies, smart cities, municipalities, counties, water supply and utilites companies, energy sector and industry had an unique opportunity to learn about innovative IoT LoRaWAN solutions, which are fundamental to the digital transformation of business. The conference emphasized practical usage of LoRaWAN technology, presenting concrete solutions that have been successfully implemented across Europe and worldwide. The conference also gathered experts specializing in digital business transformation within both the public and private sectors, as well as representatives from the academic community and consultants involved in the development of smart city projects and EU project preparations.

The thematic focus of the conference was usage of LoRaWAN technology in smart cities, Industry 4.0, utility services and energy management. Participants had the chance to hear numerous experiences from France and other European countries and to learn more details about successful LoRaWAN projects implemented for water utility digitization, remote energy reading, smart cities and various use ceses for different industries.

Numerous international speakers, renowned global experts in the field of LoRaWAN technology, gave presentations at the conference, sharing user experiences in the application of LoRaWAN solutions and successful projects implemented worldwide.

The conference was officially opened by the French Ambassador to Croatia, Fabien Fieschi, with a welcome speech on behalf of the French Embassy, highlighting the importance of innovation and technological collaboration between France and Croatia.

As hosts of the conference, Yann Baudin and Rafael Denis from  presented their portfolio of LoRaWAN infrastructure solutions that ensure high-quality wireless connectivity, along with an overview of various use cases for LoRaWAN technology.
Kerlink
By connecting wireless IoT sensors simply and affordably while ensuring long-range connectivity with high resistance to interference, LoRaWAN technology becomes an enabler for quick and efficient digitalization of business processes. Participants were introduced to examples of successful projects from Kerlink's partners around the world, including smart cities, utility companies, and industry.

The conference LoRaWAN IoT for Digital Cities and Businesses held in Croatia

 
This conference was officially supported by LoRa Alliance, the renowned international organization responsible for standardizing and promoting LoRaWAN technology as an open standard. The keynote speach introducing LoRaWAN technology and the advantages it brings to the world was delivered by Rémi Demerlé, LoRa Alliance Ambassador from the Smart Water and Energy division, and Marketing Director at Semtech.

The state-owned company Odašiljači i veze, the main provider of national strategic communications infrastructure, was introduced as a part of the session "Experience of the National LoRaWAN Network Operator in Croatia". On behalf of Odašiljači i veze, presentation was delivered by Board Member Denis Nikola Kulišić and Sales Director Tomislav Marić. In the role of national LoRaWAN network operator in Croatia, Odašiljači i veze shared their experiences in implementing their communication infrastructure, where they utilize Kerlink's LoRaWAN gateways. As an example of a successfully implemented project, they presented the technically complex pilot project "Smart Buoys," which was carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture.

As an introduction to the thematic block dedicated to solutions for water utilities, Rémi Demerlé from LoRa Alliance provided an overview of the most significant Smart Water and Smart Metering project implementations worldwide, emphasizing the benefits and cost savings achieved through the use of LoRaWAN.

Partners from Veolia, one of the world’s leading water service providers, shared their experiences in applying LoRaWAN technology for the complete digitalization of water infrastructure management in France. They presented the technical specifics of implementing one of the largest LoRaWAN projects in the world, which includes an automated remote reading system for 4 million water meters using LoRaWAN technology, along with additional solutions aimed at reducing water losses and monitoring water quality as well as environmental parameters. Representatives from Birdz, a company within the Veolia organization responsible for implementing smart IoT solutions, Stéphane Comignan and Pierre-Emmanuel Dubois, elaborated the maintenance procedures and service levels for such large systems and emphasized the efficiency of LoRaWAN in reducing operational costs and improving services.

As part of the presentation of successful projects from Croatia, a significant national project by Hrvatske vode was highlighted. The presented project involved the use of LoRaWAN communication for the digitalization of remote water meter readings, conducted as part of a program aimed at reducing water losses. The implementation of the LoRaWAN system for remote meter reading within the project “Installation of Metering Devices at Water Intakes” enabled secure and reliable data delivery for the precise monitoring of water intake volumes at water utilities sites across Croatia. The project was presented on behalf of Hrvatske vode by Đino Zmijarević, Head of the Water Usage Department, and Stjepan Kamber, Senior Coordinator of the National Program for Irrigation and Agricultural Land and Water Management. The technical aspects of the project, along with the interesting experience of implementing LoRaWAN solutions for telemetry, were presented by Darko Žvan, Member of the Board for Technology at Micro-Link, the integrator of the LoRaWAN system for this project.

The next significant project currently ongoing in Croatia, "Smart City Zagreb," was presented on behalf of the Zagreb Digital City. Branch Manager of Zagreb Digital City Filip Jurišić introduced their plan to establish a LoRaWAN network in the City of Zagreb. This unique citywide LoRaWAN network will provide high-quality wireless connectivity for numerous devices and sensors, marking the first step toward implementing smart city services such as remote water and gas meter readings and smart parking. The planned project will enable the city to deliver better services to its citizens and position Zagreb among the digital leaders in our region.

The following presentation elaborated the technically demanding LoRaWAN project which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlighted the successful collaboration between system integrators from Serbia and the Croatian company Micro-Link, which was developing custom-made LoRaWAN end devices accoroding to the specific requirements of this project. As a part of the project "Integration of Remote Heat Energy Metering Systems" for Beogradske Elektrane, LoRaWAN communication was applied for remote heat energy consumption measurement, where the robustness and excellent signal penetration of LoRaWAN radio signals within buildings was confirmed. The implemented solution allows for precise real-time monitoring of heat energy consumption, and the technical specifics of this project were presented by Zoran Maljković.

During the part of the conference dedicated to presentations by international IoT technology experts, the experiences of Kerlink's ecosystem partner companies—Watteco, Actility, and Sensoneo, global leaders in the development and implementation of LoRaWAN systems were shared.

The conference LoRaWAN IoT for Digital Cities and Businesses held in Croatia

 
On behalf of the French company Actility, business development expert Roman Savvin presented their experiences with the implementation of an IoT platform for LPWAN connectivity, highlighting global reference projects for smart cities and utility companies.

Solutions for Industry 4.0, Energy Efficiency, and Smart Buildings were presented by Pierre Savary from the French company Watteco. He showcased examples of LoRaWAN sensors for the digitalization of industrial processes, increasing the energy efficiency of buildings and predictive maintenance of machines. Of particular interest was the reference to the use of AI IoT devices for Veolia, where significant savings were achieved in the maintenance of wastewater treatment pumps.

In the part of the conference focused on IoT solutions for utility companies, Sensoneo shared their experiences with Smart Waste projects. Participants had the opportunity to see examples of successful projects in major global cities where LoRaWAN technology was implemented for Smart waste management. Various benefits of introducing innovative waste collection optimization solutions were presented by Matej Turčan, including reducing operational costs, more efficient urban infrastructure management and improved environmental impact.

During the conference "LoRaWAN IoT for Digital Cities and Companies", participants had an unique opportunity to witness a global LoRaWAN premiere. Exclusively for this conference, Kerlink announced the launch of a new LoRaWAN gateway with integrated solar power, offering new possibilities for easier LoRaWAN connectivity in locations without existing infrastructure.

In addition to technological and innovative potentials, financial opportunities also represent a key factor in initiating investments in projects where implementation of IoT and LoRaWAN solutions is planned. As part of the topic "Funding Opportunities for Digital Business Transformation," the conference participants were presented with an overview of available EU funds and other sources of financing for investments in digital business transformation. Mia Burić, a consultant in the Smart Governance department from Apsolon, delivered the presentation.

On behalf of the conference organizer, the conference was concluded by CEO of company AdriNet, Ivana Janković Šafarić:
"We are very proud to announce that this is the first conference of its kind organized in the Adria region, dedicated exclusively to the application of LoRaWAN communications technology. We are grateful to all the partners and friends from our LoRaWAN community who gathered from across Europe to introduce the wonderful world of possibilities opened by Internet of Things technology.

The main motivation and inspiration for organizing this event was to illustrate the full potential of IoT and LoRaWAN technologies, which provide the foundation for business digitalization. We are happy that we managed to bring to our audience the leading global experts on this topic, who shared their valuable insights on LoRaWAN solutions in practice and experiences from end users worldwide. We are looking forward to the future conferences with the similar concept dedicated to our customers in Adria region as well as the further development of LoRaWAN technology applications in the world of new digital possibilities."

In conclusion, this conference demonstrated that LoRaWAN technology not only opens the door to digital transformation but also enables the creation of smarter, more sustainable, and more efficient systems.
Its application is not limited to technical aspects—it shapes the future of business and resource management, connects us with new opportunities, and brings significant value to users, enhancing the quality of life and business on a global scale.

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