Amazon announces longer-range Sidewalk wireless network for IoT devices

Sidewalk will use low-bandwidth 900 megahertz spectrum to enable communication with IoT devices a mile away

Amazon has announced a new wireless protocol, called Amazon Sidewalk, that it claims extends further than both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and which could be used to control a wide range of IoT devices.

This low-bandwidth, longer-range network protocol was announced on Wednesday at Amazon's Alexa event, along with a new range of Echo speakers and a slew of other products.

"People don't even realise yet how important that intermediate range is going to be, for things like lights in your yard, controlling your lights on your sidewalk in the street," Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said at the Alexa event in Seattle, Washington State, according to Reuters.

The company argues that Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have too limited a range, while 5G technology is too complex and power-hungry for most embedded devices.

Sidewalk, in contrast, will be able to connect to devices up to a mile away, depending on how the devices and base station are positioned.

This wireless network will use low-bandwidth 900 megahertz (MHz) spectrum and will need lesser amount of power than a Wi-Fi network.

Testing of Sidewalk access points was recently performed in Los Angeles using 700 test devices sent to the employees of Amaonz's Ring subsidiary, as well as some of their friends and family members.

Because SideWalk is based on mesh network technology, Amazon claims that only a few access points will be needed to cover a broader area.

Once there are enough access points installed, users will become able to create a network with quite large coverage.

At the event, Amazon envisaged Sidewalk-enabled water sensors in parks and gardens that would help keep plants quenched or Sidewalk-enabled weather stations that would be able to inform people how much rain their homes received on a rainy day.

The company didn't say anything about when it plans to launch the new technology commercially, but said it would publish its Sidewalk protocol soon, enabling other device makers to integrate it into their devices. Amazon hopes that third parties will eventually use Sidewalk in their smart devices.

At the Alexa event, Amazon also announced a smart dog tracker, called Ring Fetch, which will use Amazon Sidewalk to keep an eye on a dog's location, and will alert the owner if the dog leaves a certain perimeter.

The company said it will launch Ring Fetch next year.