While no one was paying much attention, Amazon created a free national wireless network that reaches 90% of the US population. It's called Sidewalk.
Previously, it was only open to certain developers. But this week, Amazon made software and hardware development kits available to the public, as well as a test kit to verify connectivity.
I first wrote about Sidewalk here in 2019 when the service was announced. Amazon launched it to select partners in 2021.
A walk on the sidewalk
Unlike, for example, Z-Wave, Sidewalk is not a mesh network. It is an LPWAN, a low power wide area network optimized for IoT (Internet of Things) devices. It is ideal for securely and privately sending small amounts of data over impressive distances.
Sidewalk is comparable in practice to Apple's Find My network, which tracks any Apple device with an Apple phone, tablet or laptop. It does this by allowing anything, say a lost iPhone, to connect to any other Apple device that belongs to someone else.
Apple devices are the distributed hardware for the Locate network. Sidewalk hardware is Amazon's line of security cameras and smart speakers, representing millions of devices.
Until now, the network existed primarily to allow limited functionality of Amazon devices, even if the home Wi-Fi network they're connected to goes offline. It also served as a network for a small number of participating companies.
Sidewalk connectivity is free to anyone with a device that connects. And free for Amazon too! By simply adding a Sidewalk section to its Connected Devices Terms of Service, Amazon gains permission to use up to 500MB of each user's home network connectivity per month, and boldly ships enabled devices by default. (Users can opt out of using the Amazon Alexa and Ring mobile apps.)
Sidewalk uses several wireless technologies: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for short distances; LoRa for long distances (up to 800 meters away); and frequency shift keying through 900 MHz. Terminals automatically choose the best technology on the fly based on distance and other factors, and automatically "load balance" bandwidth usage between bridges within range .
Install a Ring Floodlight or Spotlight camera or Echo smart speaker, and you'll be giving away some of your home network bandwidth to random passersby. These devices function as curb bridges (also called curb gateways), connecting any curb devices (also called curb terminals) within range to Amazon's servers via the home Wi-Fi network to which They are connected.
Amazon seems to take Sidewalk security seriously; the company says it can't see anything other than routing data from sidewalk network traffic. Owners of Bridge devices (cameras and smart speakers) cannot see any data or who is connecting. And the data is protected by three layers of encryption. The company uses what is essentially the zero trust model, which requires only Sidewalk devices to be connected and authenticates each device at the serial number level each time it wants to communicate through the system. Privacy and anonymity are ensured by one-way hash keys, cryptographic algorithms, and rotating device identifiers.
The many uses of the sidewalk
There are Sidewalk compatible devices on the market. For example, Netvox sells a home sensor suite that monitors air conditioning and water leaks. Meshify makes water leak sensors. New Cosmos offers a gas alarm. Primax sells a smart door lock. DeNova makes natural gas alarms. MarryIoT incorporates air quality sensors and options.
Amazon's use of Sidewalk for tracking is called the Community Search feature. It's used by Tile's trackers, which predate and compete with Apple AirTags and take advantage of the Sidewalk Network, so you can use the Sidewalk Network to find your dog if you're wearing a Tile tracker collar or your wallet if you accidentally leave it in an Uber . .
Amazon also supports its CareBands program with Sidewalk. CareBands are connected devices that track and monitor people who are unable to fully care for themselves, for example, allowing older people to continue living at home rather than in a care facility. They look like wristwatches, but without a screen or dial. Amazon may expand the program to also help with addiction treatment, child tracing, contact tracing and other uses. The program is currently in a pilot phase.
While ordinary devices can connect up to half a mile away, specific devices like Tile trackers and Amazon CareBands can connect up to a few miles away.
You can use the Amazon Alexa and Ring apps to disable community search, while using the Sidewalk network for your own devices.
Nordic, Silicon Labs, Texas Instruments, and Quectel have partnered with Amazon to offer SDKs (Software Development Kits) and HDKs (Hardware Development Kits).
sidewalk means business
All this information about using Sidewalk for home IoT devices and trackers may lead you to believe that this is a pure consumer game. In fact, Sidewalk is natively integrated with Amazon's AWS IoT Core service and is a brilliant untapped resource for businesses, from startups to established companies. (In fact, companies that build Sidewalk-enabled devices must use AWS to do so.)
Let's start with the obvious applications. Since the pandemic, working remotely has become normal for many organizations. Businesses now have thousands of employees who have left the inner-city and company-owned and operated networks and disappeared into the suburbs, relying on scarce, unreliable, and insecure consumer network hardware, software, and services. .
Sidewalk represents a direct and secure line between remote work devices and enterprise cloud applications, not for normal data, but for device configuration, ping, reboot, monitoring and tracking, and other low-data usage. And it could prove invaluable for any type of fleet management – a backup monitoring and tracking option for places where mobile broadband doesn't reach.
Sidewalk is expected to spark a wave of new startups and connectivity for existing startups: curbside delivery, delivery robots, smart trash cans, anything involving IoT devices "in the wild."
Two major issues with enterprise IoT are: 1) how it is connected in the field; and 2) IoT security. Sidewalk instantly solves both challenges for many American businesses. So now that Amazon has opened up Sidewalk to developers of all stripes, it makes sense to take a serious look at this untapped resource.
Don't be distracted by Amazon Sidewalk's consumer-focused foundations. This is a great help for companies.
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