Silver Spring Networks Introduces Starfish™ -- International Wireless IPv6 Network Service for the Internet of Things

Today at a ceremony at San Jose City Hall, Silver Spring Networks, Inc. (NYSE: SSNI) announced Starfish, an international wireless IPv6 network service for the Internet of Things. Silver Spring has already delivered more than 22 million connected devices for IoT networks on five continents. Building on this footprint, Starfish will enable commercial enterprises, cities, utilities, and developers to access a reliable, secure, and scalable IoT network service with service level agreements (SLAs) that meet their needs. Starfish will first be available in the North American cities of Chicago, San Antonio, and San Jose; the European cities of Bristol, Copenhagen, and Glasgow; and in Calcutta, India. Silver Spring intends to expand Starfish’s IoT service coverage across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand throughout 2016 and beyond. Silver Spring today also unveiled a 2016 IoT Hackathon Series planned for cities including Bristol, Calcutta, Chicago, Copenhagen, San Jose, and Singapore, and new tools that will make it easier for device makers and software application developers to participate in the benefits of the international IoT network buildout.

Starfish builds on the open IEEE 802.15.4g wireless interoperability standard (Wi-SUN) and raises the bar on what should be expected from an IoT network by delivering up to 1.2 Mbps in speed, 10 millisecond latency, up to 50 miles in point-to-point range, nearly limitless mesh range, multiple network transports, and industrial-grade security, reliability, and scalability. Starfish will also provide world-class device and application management and control functions, an IoT-scale data platform, and access to one of the industry’s largest open partner ecosystems.

While many other IoT network offerings suffer from extremely limited bandwidth, are based on proprietary technology, face severe reliability and scalability challenges, and offer virtually no modern security, Starfish combines a globally proven Internet of Things networking platform with full SLAs and brings industrial-grade security to every device. As part of Starfish’s larger set of tiered service offerings, Silver Spring also introduced the Haiku™ service plan, which will deliver 5000 messages x 16 bytes per month for free, ideal for users with smaller data needs who wish to access a proven IoT service.

“We have entered a new era – ubiquitous connectivity of billions of devices and real-time data across massive-scale networks are unlocking untold social and economic opportunities,” said Mike Bell, President and CEO, Silver Spring Networks. “Today, with the Starfish IoT network service, Silver Spring is opening up one of the most reliable, scalable, and secure IoT networks on the face of the earth. We want to make connecting to the potential of the Internet of Things as simple as subscribing to the plan of your choice.”

“We are proud to work with an innovative company like Silver Spring Networks on a project to deploy a citywide Internet of Things network across our city,” said Sam Liccardo, Mayor of San Jose, California. “This type of secured network will help us further our Smart City goals by connecting the next generation of critical infrastructure, power modern smart city services, and establishing a platform for future IoT innovations, business investment, and entrepreneurship. I’d like to thank Silver Spring for choosing to demonstrate this next wave of growth right here in the heart of Silicon Valley.”

A Groundbreaking New Network Service for the Internet of Things

For more than a decade, Silver Spring has delivered wireless IPv6 mesh networks for some of the most rigorous customers and applications in the world – with more than 22 million Silver Spring-enabled devices delivered, designed for 99.9% reliability, across hundreds of thousands of square miles of dramatically varied dense urban and remote rural topographies, in harsh outdoor environments, and with some field lifespans of a dozen years or more.

With Starfish, entities such as city departments, utilities, public lighting operators, highway and transportation administrations, infrastructure services companies, large campuses and port authorities, commercial enterprises, and device makers and developers will be able to access a proven, secure, reliable, and scalable IoT network that is already connecting millions of critical devices today. Silver Spring intends to rapidly expand the availability of Starfish to additional geographies and cities in 2016 and beyond.

The initial international rollout of Starfish includes collaborations with the Bristol is Open (BIO) smart city program, CESC in Calcutta, the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, and a demonstration partnership with the City of San Jose; as well as additional planned Starfish availability in the City of San Antonio, the City of Copenhagen, and the City of Glasgow.

For more information on Starfish and the free Haiku offering visit www.silverspringnet.com/Starfish

New Global Hackathon and Partner Tools to Accelerate Participation in the IoT

Since its inception, Silver Spring has embraced open standards and ecosystems to ensure choice, interoperability, and innovation. Extending its heritage of openness, Silver Spring is making it simpler for IoT device makers and software developers to access and accelerate the vast IoT marketplace:

• Device Makers: Silver Spring will provide a new IoT Hardware Development Kit (HDK) and Software Development Kit (SDK) to speed integration development and testing. The new HDK and SDK will provide specifications and documentation, access to test hardware and networks, a verification process, and development support.
• Software Application Developers: Silver Spring will provide a new IoT Software Development Kit (SDK) that will include a cloud-based development sandbox, access to APIs and documentation, reference material and sample code, a verification process, and development support.

Members of the Silver Spring Global Partner Program will also receive ongoing lifecycle management and multi-tiered product support. To learn more about Silver Spring’s Global Partner Program and to register for early access to Silver Spring’s new HDK and SDK visit www.silverspringnet.com/partners

Along with its key partners, Silver Spring plans to host a Global IoT Hackathon Series for device makers, software developers, students, and entrepreneurs throughout 2016 in cities such as Bristol, Calcutta, Copenhagen, Chicago, San Jose, and Singapore. Participants will be able to develop and test their latest innovations in real-world environments and collaborate with leading IoT technologists around the world. Winners will receive development grants and an opportunity to offer their products into the global Silver Spring customer and partner ecosystem.

Registration for the Global IoT Hackathon Series will open in January 2016. To sign up for more information and pre-register today, visit www.silverspringnet.com/Starfish

Industry Leaders Worldwide Show Support for the Starfish IoT Service:

• Bristol Is Open (BIO):
  “We are collaborating with Silver Spring to establish an open and ubiquitous network fabric for the Internet of Things across Bristol,” said Paul Wilson, Managing Director at Bristol Is Open. “An open, interoperable, standards based approach to IoT is an important building block in our journey toward creating the world’s first open programmable city. Today’s news from Silver Spring will hasten the ambition of the entrepreneurs, researchers, civic agencies, and commercial enterprises who work with us on the development of Bristol’s city-scale IoT test-bed.”

• City of Glasgow:
  “An open Internet of Things network is crucial for the Future City Glasgow programme, connecting street lights, sensors, traffic cameras, and other devices across our city,” said Councillor Frank McAveety, Leader of Glasgow City Council. “In collaboration with Silver Spring we can extend this open IoT network to connect anything else with a digital heartbeat, unlocking vast quantities of data to help us better manage city services, improve health and safety, increase reliability and efficiency, and be a catalyst for new business and entrepreneurial opportunities that drive economic growth.”

• CESC, Calcutta, India:
  “By teaming with Silver Spring, we believe we will offer the most robust and cost-effective IoT networking solution in India,” said Mr Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman of CESC. “Implementation of IoT is critical to meeting India’s objectives for economic growth and sustainability and we are proud to be leading in this effort.”

• Illinois Institute of Technology:
  “We’re honored to collaborate with Silver Spring to help extend their IoT network in Chicago. Ubiquitous, reliable, and scalable communications infrastructure is critical for Chicago’s ongoing economic growth and energy sustainability,” said Dr. Mohammad Shahidehpour, Director of the Robert W. Galvin Center for Electricity Innovation, Illinois Institute of Technology. “IIT’s strength in energy and technology research and innovation is a perfect complement to Silver Spring’s IoT initiatives. We look forward to applying this world-class technology not only across the IIT campus but also seeing our students and research communities participate in the 2016 global IoT hackathon."

• Wi-SUN Alliance:
  "As billions of devices join the Internet of Things, open standards are crucial in providing confidence in the interoperability of these large-scale international networks,” said Phil Beecher, Chairman of the Wi-SUN Alliance. “Silver Spring is a long-time open standards leader and participant, and we applaud their IoT service expanding the availability of Wi-SUN FAN’s superior performance, security and reliability to customers and developers worldwide.”

Join the Silver Spring Networks Conversation

• Read more on the Silver Spring Connect blog at
  www.silverspringnet.com/silver-spring-connect
• Follow @SilverSpringNet on Twitter
• Like Silver Spring Networks on Facebook at www.facebook.com/silverspringnetworks

About Silver Spring Networks

Silver Spring Networks is a leading networking platform and solutions provider for smart energy networks. Silver Spring’s pioneering IPv6 networking platform, with over 22.3 million Silver Spring enabled devices delivered, is connecting utilities to homes and business throughout the world with the goal of achieving greater energy efficiency for the planet. Silver Spring’s innovative solutions enable utilities to gain operational efficiencies, improve grid reliability, and empower consumers to monitor and manage energy consumption. Silver Spring Networks’ customers include major utilities around the globe such as Baltimore Gas & Electric, CitiPower & Powercor, Commonwealth Edison, CPS Energy, Florida Power & Light, Jemena Electricity Networks Limited, Pacific Gas & Electric, Pepco Holdings, Progress Energy, and Singapore Power, among others. To learn more, please visit www.silverspringnet.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements about Silver Spring Networks’ expectations, plans, intentions, and strategies, including, but not limited to statements regarding the scope of Silver Spring’s engagements with San Jose, Bristol, Copenhagen, Glasgow, IIT, and CESC; the performance, capabilities and benefits of Starfish and Haiku; and the expanded availability of Starfish. Statements including words such as "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or “future” and statements in the future tense are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions, which, if they do not fully materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties include the negotiation of, and the successful implementation and deployment of, definitive agreements between Silver Spring Networks and San Jose, Bristol, Copenhagen, Glasgow, IIT, and CESC, the adoption of Starfish in its intended market, and the expansion of the IoT market, as well as those described in Silver Spring Networks' documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Silver Spring Networks as of the date hereof. Silver Spring Networks assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151209005423/en/