Growing demand for Edge AI and intelligent IoT applications is creating new opportunities for Wi-Fi HaLow in Europe. At a recent WiFi NOW webinar, experts from Omdia, Morse Micro, HaloWave, and Vantron examined the technology’s commercial potential and expanding ecosystem of solutions. The webinar also featured proven commercial deployments of Wi-Fi HaLow in Europe featuring precision positioning over five kilometres and video streaming over two kilometres by Italy-based Wi-Fi HaLow pioneer HaloWave.
Omdia: Edge AI adoption creates opportunities for Wi-Fi HaLow
The rapid adoption of Edge IoT is creating new demand for long-range, low-power connectivity capable of supporting more sophisticated applications, says Andrew Brown, Practice Lead, IoT, at Omdia.
Omdia’s research among 570 IoT decision-makers across ten countries found that 62% of organisations have adopted edge architectures, while 78% of those with deployments have progressed beyond the pilot stage. Furthermore, 87% report that their deployments meet or exceed expectations.
The principal drivers are improved data security and privacy (46%), lower transmission costs (42%), operational reliability (38%), and reduced latency (37%). Industrial applications lead adoption, particularly machine vision (42%), industrial automation (38%), predictive maintenance (31%), and security and surveillance (29%).
Andrew Brown says this shift towards distributed intelligence creates an opportunity for Wi-Fi HaLow, which combines long-range connectivity, low power consumption, and native IP networking with sufficient bandwidth for applications beyond basic sensor telemetry.
Unlike traditional low-power wide-area networking technologies, Wi-Fi HaLow can support larger data transfers, including images, video, and firmware updates. Omdia forecasts continued growth in Wi-Fi HaLow semiconductor shipments through 2029, albeit from a small base. Andrew Brown describes Europe as a follower market, with adoption expected to develop more gradually than in the US, Australia, and New Zealand.
The main limitation in Europe is spectrum availability: While the US provides approximately 26 MHz of spectrum, European deployments face narrower allocations, lower power limits, and airtime restrictions. Nevertheless, regulatory developments and technologies such as listen-before-talk and adaptive frequency agility could improve deployment opportunities.
Omdia identifies building automation, EV charging, utility metering, distributed energy infrastructure, industrial monitoring, and video surveillance as promising markets. Andrew Brown’s conclusion is that Wi-Fi HaLow is best positioned as a local IP connectivity and aggregation layer between distributed devices, intelligent edge systems, and wider enterprise networks.
Watch the full video presentations & access the webinar’s PDF presentation materials here.
Morse Micro: Long-range connectivity for intelligent devices
David Armour – Business Development Director Europe at Morse Micro – explained how Wi-Fi HaLow addresses the need for long-range, low-power connectivity with meaningful data throughput. Operating in sub-1 GHz spectrum, Wi-Fi HaLow offers substantially greater range and improved penetration through walls and obstacles compared with conventional Wi-Fi.
The technology also supports large numbers of connected devices, native IP networking, and established Wi-Fi security capabilities, including WPA3. David Armour highlighted the growing importance of Edge AI, where devices analyse information locally and transmit selected data rather than continuously streaming everything to the cloud. Another increasingly important requirement is the ability to distribute firmware and security updates throughout a device’s operational lifetime.
Europe’s Cyber Resilience Act is increasing the importance of maintaining connected products securely, making reliable over-the-air updates a key consideration for IoT deployments. Armour also identified smart energy as a particularly promising market, including solar installations, battery storage, smart meters, and EV chargers. Morse Micro has been conducting Wi-Fi HaLow field tests across 20 locations in five European countries, evaluating performance in different indoor and outdoor environments. Its second-generation MM8108 system-on-chip featured prominently in the webinar’s subsequent demonstrations.
HaloWave demonstrates precision positioning over five kilometres
Osvaldo Ruscitti – co-founder of HaloWave – presented two field demonstrations conducted in Italy using Wi-Fi HaLow equipment based on Morse Micro’s MM8108 silicon. The first involved real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning, used in precision agriculture, autonomous tractors, surveying, and robotics.
RTK receivers require continuous correction data to achieve centimetre-level positioning accuracy. This can be challenging in rural areas without reliable cellular coverage. HaLoWave demonstrated a connection over approximately five kilometres using a GEODNET RTK receiver and its own Wi-Fi HaLow networking equipment. The remote smartphone had no cellular connectivity and instead received internet access through a HaloWave client router.
The demonstration achieved reported horizontal positioning accuracy of 7 mm and throughput of approximately 4.5 Mbps over the five-kilometre link. The results illustrate how a single Wi-Fi HaLow access point could potentially connect multiple agricultural machines across a large property without requiring individual cellular subscriptions.
Off-grid video streaming over two kilometres
HaloWave’s second demonstration involved a solar-powered security camera installed at an industrial vehicle depot more than two kilometres from the access point. The installation had no local conventional Wi-Fi connection or grid electricity supply. A HaloWave client router received the long-range signal and provided an Ethernet connection to the camera, enabling continuous live video streaming through a cloud application.
Osvaldo Ruscitti reported approximately 1 Mbps downstream and 2 Mbps upstream using a 1 MHz channel under European operating conditions. The demonstration highlights opportunities in logistics yards, solar farms, industrial facilities, and other locations where cabling is expensive and cellular subscriptions for multiple cameras can become costly. HaloWave is also developing a distributed Wi-Fi HaLow network and reported more than 100 registered access points and client devices.
Vantron expands the commercial Wi-Fi HaLow ecosystem
Michael Sturm, Director Sales, Europe, at Vantron, presented the company’s expanding portfolio of Wi-Fi HaLow products, including embedded modules, USB adapters, access points, industrial gateways, routers, and cameras. The products incorporate Morse Micro silicon and are designed to simplify Wi-Fi HaLow integration for equipment manufacturers and system integrators. Vantron highlighted applications including wireless media distribution in retail environments, hotel automation, and smart city surveillance.
In hospitality, Wi-Fi HaLow can simplify connectivity across multiple floors and complement technologies such as Matter over Thread for room-level automation. The company also presented solar-powered surveillance solutions and native Wi-Fi HaLow cameras that eliminate the need for separate bridging routers. Evaluation hardware is available for developers seeking to introduce Wi-Fi HaLow into commercial products.
WiFi NOW’s take: Europe must push now to unlock Wi-Fi HaLow’s potential
Wi-Fi HaLow is beginning to demonstrate its commercial value, particularly for applications requiring long-range IP connectivity, moderate data rates, and low deployment costs. The combination of Edge AI, industrial IoT, and intelligent energy infrastructure could provide significant momentum. Europe’s spectrum framework is a limitation, but service providers such as HaloWave prove that commercial deployments are real and valuable.
The impressive field demonstrations presented during this webinar show what is already possible. WiFi NOW believes that a globally maturing ecosystem of silicon and devices is substantially accelerating adoption – and that Europe’s opportunity is to embrace Wi-Fi HaLow today. The technology is ready for wider commercial deployment in particular where range and low infrastructure costs are important.
/Claus.