IoT implementation challenges and strategies: lessons from Odense municipality’s endeavor

A-2 Management Consulting, in collaboration with the municipalities' IT collective KOMBIT, has collected experiences from 4 municipalities in order to uncover their experiences with IoT technology.

Odense Municipality has established a small independent LoRaWAN network owned and operated by the municipality itself. They have also developed their own IoT platform. They are working on several 'proof of concepts' for IoT solutions, including:

Parking sensor solutions
Measurement of air pollution
Testing of various sensors in buried waste containers
Measurement of CO2 levels in schools
The operation and administration of gateways are handled in the same process and system as the municipality's other approximately 2,000 access points. The network is open for use by all of the municipality's institutions, citizens, and businesses.

The municipality chose LoRaWAN due to the possibility of establishing their own network and opening it to the municipality's citizens and businesses, as well as to avoid dependencies on external suppliers.

The municipality has had positive experiences with the network and the IoT platform, while the quality, functionality, robustness, and battery lifetimes of the sensors have not met expectations.

Therefore, in the work on future IoT solutions, there is a particular focus on the maturity of the sensors, data protocols, and certification of devices.