iLOQ is a provider of smart locking and secure access to buildings. Originally from Finland, iLOQ now has offices in nine countries around the world and is adding more all the time. iLOQ’s innovation centres on self-powered digital locking and mobile access management solutions. iLOQ’s system reduces opex from lost keys or lock battery maintenance while also improving operational efficiency by enabling enhanced access control and site monitoring. TowerXchange spoke with Joaquim Serrahima, their Director for Global Key Accounts in Telecoms to discuss iLOQ’s work in the telecom infrastructure sector.
TowerXchange: Please introduce your company ’ where do you fit in the telecoms infrastructure ecosystem?
Joaquim Serrahima, Director Global Key Accounts TELECOM, iLOQ Spain:
iLOQ provides smart locking and secure access to buildings and spaces we use daily and caters to the needs of industry and the utility sector with mobile and digital solutions for efficient access sharing and management. iLOQ S50 allows telecoms providers to focus on their core business ’ managing and maintaining sites, not providing access to them.
TowerXchange: What are the weaknesses of mechanical locks?
Joaquim Serrahima, Director Global Key Accounts TELECOM, iLOQ Spain:
With many new products in the market, there has never been a better time for utility companies to consider upgrading to a more efficient and more secure locking system.
Typically, utility companies face the challenge of granting access to many users (often external maintenance companies) in vast territories to a large number of sites. Those sites can be substations, telecom towers or water pipelines. On top of that, critical infrastructure managers are blind about what is going on in the field: WHO is getting access to WHERE and WHEN?
Mechanical locking systems don’t solve these issues. A critical infrastructure company managing 10,000 sites, with an average of 10 users per site, has 100,000 mechanical keys in the field. It is virtually impossible for the managers of those infrastructures to control who has the keys and be sure about who is accessing the sites. Moreover, the manager has huge operating expenses associated with key handling, lock replacements for lost or stolen keys and costs associated with ’internal vandalism’ or robberies associated with uncontrolled key copies.
TowerXchange: You also suggest that even battery- powered keys are not the solution ’ what are the weaknesses here?
Joaquim Serrahima, Director Global Key Accounts TELECOM, iLOQ Spain:
Some electronic locks are operated by battery-powered electronic keys. This partially solves the costs associated with key logistics and, at the same time, it eliminates the security risk of unauthorized key copies. Also, the administrator can send access rights to the key through an external device like, for example, a Bluetooth connection with a smartphone.
But, how can the administrator remove access rights to a lost key? Well, quite simply, he cannot. Typically, the solution is to grant temporary access rights that automatically expire after a given time. The keyholder has the obligation to constantly refresh his access rights, which is annoying. They also need to check the battery status in order to be able to access the sites. On top of that, the keys are expensive, and they generate battery waste.
TowerXchange: Aside from security concerns, are there any other issues with battery-powered locks?
Joaquim Serrahima, Director Global Key Accounts TELECOM, iLOQ Spain:
There are some electronic locks operated by Bluetooth smartphones. With physical keys removed from the equation, costs associated with key handling and lock replacements for stolen keys are eliminated. The administrator can remotely send, in real time, access rights to any user with a smartphone.
However, the operating costs for battery maintenance makes this alternative unfeasible. In the example above, how much would it cost to replace 10,000 batteries in large territories? The operational expenditure of this type of locking solution quickly mounts up.
TowerXchange: This means that the solution is a locking solution which is not only key free but also battery free?
Joaquim Serrahima, Director Global Key Accounts TELECOM, iLOQ Spain:
This is exactly what iLOQ S50 is. No keys, no batteries, no maintenance.
iLOQ’S50’is the’first?lock cylinder to harvest energy for unlocking from an NFC-enabled’smartphone. It offers the’needed security paired with efficient over-the-air access sharing that eases operating logistics and reduces’travel- and maintenance-related’costs associated with battery-powered’digital’locks.’Access rights to all property locks can be shared and managed easily with one cloud-based, secure software program ’ consolidating access management onto one platform.’iLOQ’S50 helps’utilities’keep track of who has access to what with features like time-restricted access, instant granting and revoking of access rights and real-time audit trail reports.
With iLOQ S50, utility companies can focus on managing their infrastructures instead of maintaining locks. They secure their assets by eliminating unauthorized key copies and, at the same time, lower OPEX because locks are maintenance free. They can plan accesses in advance or quickly improvise if unexpected issues happen in the field. And, best of all, with iLOQ S50, critical infrastructure managers know in real time what’s going on in their sites.
