Each time our Machine Network™ deployment team lights up another tower with RPMA coverage they hit a gong that Goliath could have used for a breastplate. Even downstairs you can feel the vibrations in the walls. Just today it jarred me from thoughtful stupor 7 times.  It’s fun to have a way to celebrate the progress of the network as it spreads across 100 US markets. As the map becomes more colorful with coverage, the IoT becomes less a distant light, and more a present reality.

This really hit home when I received one of the usual notification emails. Each time a tower is lit up, I get a warning email of the “gong-ing” to come. In this email, we see a description of the market, how many towers are needed to provide coverage, the tower location, and other details. Just the other day I received one that drove home how far-reaching the IoT is.

As I clicked open the email I saw some very familiar places. I saw cities where I made memories going to Boy Scouts, skateboarded with my friends, and went on weekends to rock climb with my buddies. I saw the place where, daily as a young boy, I ran through the woods and jumped across creeks, looked at lichen patterns, and knocked over dead trees. We had just lit up my childhood home with IoT connectivity. My parents, who have heard me talk about what we do and how the technology works, are still living there. They now have coverage right where they are, without having to do anything. And in a small way, I feel like I’ve reached back to my home through my work.