Amazon is inviting developers to try out Sidewalk, its low-bandwidth network that turns select Amazon devices into gateways that can keep devices like trackers and smart home gadgets throughout a neighborhood connected.
After launching in 2021, Sidewalk now covers 90% of the US population, according to a new coverage map. It's concentrated on the East Coast, though far-flung locales like Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico have connectivity, too.
Now Amazon wants to invite more devices to the block party. Developers can request a test kit at sidewalk.amazon/testkit, which will let them see Sidewalk coverage where they live firsthand and "test out the breadth of the network in different everyday scenarios," Amazon says.
"The Test Kit regularly pings its location over Amazon Sidewalk, providing signal strength readings for its location viewable against our coverage map on a private web site," it adds.
What type of devices might use Sidewalk? Think Tile trackers or pet finders. Amazon tipped three companies that will introduce Sidewalk-enabled devices later this year: Netvox, which makes environmental sensors; OnAsset, which produces shipping sensors; and Primax, which makes the Woody smart door lock.
"Developers within Sidewalk’s coverage area can instantly connect to the cloud without deploying their own network infrastructure," Amazon says.
Amazon describes Sidewalk as a "crowdsourced, community benefit," and that's because it relies on all the Echo and Ring devices currently connected to the internet. Sidewalk siphons off a small amount of bandwidth from the newer Echo speakers and Ring cameras in your home, and pools it together into a bridge to create a network for low-power devices.
It's helpful in areas where Wi-Fi either isn't consistently available or it isn't worth the cost of a cellular plan. It's not bandwidth-intensive enough to eat into your home internet data allotments. But if you don't like the idea, you can disable Amazon Sidewalk.
Last year, Amazon launched the Amazon Sidewalk Bridge Pro by Ring device, a professional-grade bridge for businesses, municipalities, universities, and public services, to expand Sidewalk beyond residential areas.