The FINANCIAL — Since the launch of Un-carrier, T-Mobile’s tackled and solved some of the worst pain points for consumers and businesses, and now, the Un-carrier’s bringing the same approach to the “Internet of Things” (IoT).
On January 3, T-Mobile unveiled two new simple, straightforward, low-cost IoT Access packs with wireless data – and a Category 1 (Cat1) module on us – to help accelerate IoT innovation and eliminate the pain of piecing together wireless IoT solutions.
“Like everything they do, the carriers over-complicate the Internet of Things, and that leads to more hassle and cost for customers,” said Doug Chartier, Senior Vice President, T-Mobile. “The wireless industry needs simpler options for IoT to take off, and that’s exactly what we’re delivering.”
In today’s market, if a device maker wants to create an IoT solution, they must buy a wireless module from one vendor then negotiate to purchase an overpriced data plan from a carrier – all before bringing their solution to market. That doesn’t encourage IoT development. It only helps line the carriers’ pockets, while stifling innovation and slowing time to market.
With T-Mobile’s IoT Access packs, new and existing customers can get everything they need – including modules and data – to develop the next great IoT solution. For applications that use a little data, customers can get up to 5MB of data per month for $20 per year per device in the first year and just $6 per year per device afterwards. For unlimited data at 64kbps, it’s just $25 per year per device, and for a limited time, these customers get $5 off the first year for each device. With both T-Mobile IoT Access packs, T-Mobile will cover the cost of a Sequans Cat1 module, via a bill credit from T-Mobile, up to $16 per module, according to T-Mobile.
In addition, T-Mobile today announced plans to continue to help customers deliver the next-generation of devices for machine-to-machine communications. T-Mobile is continuing to work to deliver “Category M” and “Narrowband IoT” (NB-IoT), the next evolution of modules to help customers save money over time and take advantage of T-Mobile’s expanding LTE coverage, based on market and customer needs. Combined with the Cat1 modules available on T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network today, these future modules will provide another technology option to give customers choice in improved data speeds and a longer product lifecycle compared to 2G network technologies.
T-Mobile has already tackled some of the biggest obstacles slowing IoT innovation with solutions for IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions. In 2016, T-Mobile provided customers ways to future-proof their IoT solutions on today’s LTE networks with support for Category 1 modules; extended 2G network operations to support customer transitions to LTE through 2020; was first to open the door for wireless development at the platform level with Twilio; delivered wireless solutions for retail businesses with ignite by Inseego; and, most recently launched T-Mobile SyncUP DRIVE, a new all-in-one connected car solution.
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