The unveiling ceremony of the Fujian Internet of Things Association was held in the Mawei district of Fuzhou on Feb 28.

 The unveiling ceremony of the Fujian Internet of Things Association was held in the Mawei district of Fuzhou on Feb 28.

Fuzhou, capital city of Fujian province, has seen rapid development in its IoT industry since an IoT industrial park opened in the Mawei district in 2016. The facility is only the fourth of its kind to be built in China, following previous IoT-focused hubs in Wuxi, Jiangsu province; Hangzhou, Zhejiang province; and Chongqing.

According to government statistics, Fuzhou now is home to a 60 billion yuan ($9.1 billion) IoT industry with more than 700 patents, which accounts for three quarters of the total in the province.

The city also takes a leading role in the research and application of Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) technology across the country.

The NB-loT network, developed by China Telecommunications Corp, the country's third largest mobile carrier, enables the connection of billions of gadgets through the internet and allows for handy retrieval of the massive trove of data generated.

In 2016, China's first NB-loT lab was established in Fuzhou and since then the city has been pioneering the commercial application of the cutting-edge technology.

In June,2017, Fuzhou rolled out a plan to install 300,000 smart water meters built using NB-loT technologies across the city, the largest IoT commercial application project in the world.

Fuzhou is also actively exploring the possibility of applying IoT in other sectors such as transport, environmental protection, medical care and public safety.

In Nov,2017, an IoT residential community, the first of its kind in Fuzhou, finished construction. NB-IoT applications can be spotted everywhere in the new development, including smart water meters, lamps, manhole covers and parking lots.

Fuzhou, is also the permanent host city of the China Internet of Things Conference. The conference, first held in 2010, has become one of the largest and most influential conferences in the sector

The newly established association is set to play an important role in promoting the development of Fujian's IoT businesses and improving the province's IoT industry chain, brand building and large-scale development.