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Hubble
Network and InPlay Inc. Partner to Bring
Sub-$1 Global Tracking Without RFID
April 16, 2026
Hubble
Network announced a partnership with
InPlay Inc. to deliver continuous,
global asset tracking at a cost that
rivals passive RFID. By combining
InPlay's sub-$1 IN100 NanoBeacon chip
with Hubble's 95 million-plus gateways,
item-level sensor and location data will
become affordable and accessible at a
massive scale.
InPlay's IN100
NanoBeacon is plug-and-play with a
uniquely small form factor that can be
easily embedded into smart labels,
wearables, and small IoT trackers. Once
deployed with Hubble firmware, devices
instantly connect to Hubble's network
with zero infrastructure costs or
hardware setup, allowing manufacturers
to start transmitting telemetry sensor
data from day one.
Affordable,
Item-level Tracking at Global Scale
The global RFID
market is growing rapidly—yet passive
RFID tags can only be scanned at close
range, leaving just 2 percent of
companies with visibility beyond their
second-tier suppliers. These blind spots
cost businesses an average of $13
million a year. Unlike cellular trackers
that use LTE, which only cover approx
15% of the Earth's landmass, the
Hubble–InPlay partnership delivers
global reach with RFID-level
affordability.
"RFID makes you
build infrastructure around every tag.
Hubble is like an API layer for
monitoring the physical world without
needing your own physical scanning
infrastructure," said Alex Haro, CEO and
co-founder of Hubble Network. "Combined
with InPlay's chips, which are small,
ultra low-power, and built to scale,
we're making global tracking possible at
a price that puts item-level visibility
within reach for any business."
"For years, supply
chains chose between cheap tags with
limited range or costly trackers with
broader reach," said Jason Wu, Cofounder
and CEO of InPlay Inc. "Our partnership
with Hubble Network is a massive leap
forward for our ecosystem. Our customers
now have an out-of-the-box solution to
take the data generated by our chips and
broadcast it anywhere in the world.
Together, we are turning simple packages
into highly intelligent and connected
nodes for improved tracking and
condition monitoring."
As part of the
partnership, Hubble and InPlay will
pursue joint go-to-market efforts across
use cases, including smart labels, cold
chain monitoring, returnable transport
items, and wearables.
The announcement
builds on recent momentum for Hubble,
which announced an integration with
Samsara for connected asset tracking,
while InPlay's NanoBeacon technology has
received industry recognition and is
trusted by partners including Indentiv,
NXP, and Bosch.
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