Hispasat, the communications satellite operator of Red Eléctrica Group, Elewit –the Group’s technological platform– and the startup Nexmachina lead two satellite IoT connectivity pilot projects in Guipúzcoa aiming at improving the safety and sustainability of rural areas and primary activities such as cattle breeding and fishing. 

The first of them was deployed at the end of September in Sierra de Aralar, where the community of Enirio-Aralar is located: more than 3,000 acres of land, most of which is located at an altitude of over 1,000 metres, where 18,000 sheep, 900 mares and 900 cows belonging to the cattle breeders of the 15 villages that conform the community graze. Enirio-Aralar also has 40 cabins located in remote areas, some of them without water or electricity, assigned to shepherds of the community so they can stay with their cattle and perform tasks such as milking or preparing cheese.

In particular, through this pilot project two satellite Wifi points have been installed in two of these cabins, as well as SOS devices, digital cowbells for the cattle, sensors to access the interior of the cabins and sensors to detect risk of fire, both inside the cabins and in neighbouring areas, to control the access to the community, for the parking slots and to control public lighting around Abaltzisketa, the municipality that has the largest portion of land in the community. All of them are connected via satellite. 

Thanks to this pilot, which is currently in operation, there will be tools that will contribute in a simple manner to improving safety and sustainability of rural areas and primary activities in Sierra de Aralar. This solution can also be transferred to any point in Spain through Hispasat’s satellites and, thanks to a wide range of IoT solutions, it can be adjusted to the different needs required in each case.
 

Safer and more efficient fishing

Likewise, these companies deployed in July another satellite IoT pilot project in a fishing boat in Hondarribia (Guipúzcoa), which has carbon dioxide, vibrations and smoke detectors connected via satellite. The information gathered is highly useful for the crew of the fishing boat, since it allows to detect possible failures in pumps or engines and possible excessive or anomalous noises in engines that may frighten off fish during fishing, to control in a more exact manner the temperature of fridges and to measure the level of carbon dioxide in the dining room and cabins. This will redound to more efficient and safer fishing activities and improvement and savings in quality audits and maintenance contracts.

Along with Hispasat, Elewit and Nexmachina, these pilots have had the collaboration of the integrators Digitanimal and Pyro, the supplier of maritime services Satlink and Hazi, a public company dedicated to driving the competitiveness and sustainability of the primary sector and rural areas and the Basque coast.

Both pilot projects have been developed within the framework of the second edition of the venture-client programme led by Elewit, an initiative open to startups from all over the world. It is a participation and collaboration model where selected startups work jointly with Red Eléctrica Group companies in pilot projects to create new use cases and validate the potential of their technological innovation developments.

Both initiatives are an example of the many possibilities Hispasat satellites offer to reduce the digital gap in Spain to ensure connectivity in all territories, including those where other infrastructures cannot reach, such as mountain areas or fishing environments. The operator has universal coverage over 100% of the country. This allows to provide connectivity to any geographical area and foster digitisation in remote areas, which is the basis for structuring society and ensuring its digitisation leaving nobody behind. Digital connectivity allows the rural world to access a wide range of solutions, such as high speed broadband and digitisation of universal rights such as education and health, and facilitates the development of industries such as the food and agriculture or forest industries, as well as facilitating procedures for citizens living in rural areas

About Hispasat

Hispasat is the benchmarking satellite operator in Spain and drives innovation in the aerospace industry. It is the main communications bridge between Europe and America as a broadband and connectivity services supplier in America, Europe, and North Africa through their companies in Spain and Latin America, where its Brazilian subsidiary company Hispamar is located. It is a leader in disseminating and distributing audiovisual content in Spanish and Portuguese, including broadcasting in important Direct TV Home (DTVH) and High Definition TV (HDTV) digital platforms. These activities make it one of the largest companies worldwide in terms of income in the industry, and it is part of Red Eléctrica Group.

About Elewit

Elewit is Red Eléctrica Group’s technological platform. We were founded in 2019 to offer solutions to the new challenges in the electricity and telecommunications sectors. Our goal is: to promote the energy transition and connectivity to create a sustainable future. Elewit focuses its activities around four impact areas: the citizen at the core, transmission, and access to information, renewable energies, and flexibility in the operation of the electricity system, electrification of society, development and smart management of assets and cybersecurity as cross-section. More information on: www.elewit.ventures.

About Nexmachina

Nexmachina is a global company specialised in digitisation through IoT (sensors, wireless networks and connected items). Its strength and know-how are based on the design of comprehensive solutions, always focused on customer needs, mainly companies seeking digitisation, improving processes and costs saving.