Elisa has announced that it is the first operator in Finland to achieve a national NB-IoT network footprint, with a coverage presence in every Finnish municipality. The NB-IoT network has been in a test/pilot phase since October 2017, with client companies utilising it including Enevo (waste management), HappyOrNot (customer satisfaction terminals) and Prisma (retail/hypermarkets).
Elsewhere in the Nordics, Denmark’s TDC has announced that its NB-IoT network in Aalborg will officially go live this June, partnering businesses, the city council, the ‘Invest in Aalborg’ organisation and Aalborg University, which has established an ‘IoT living lab’ to develop IoT applications with public and private sector participants.
Comarch and Arqiva have extended a commercial partnership for 15 years under a long‐term plan to roll out next generation smart utility meters in the UK. Comarch provides the Operational Support System (OSS) and professional services supporting Arqiva’s smart metering platform, part of the UK government’s Smart Metering Programme that will be delivered to 26 million homes by 2020. Arqiva is currently delivering communications services to connect smart electricity and gas meters in around ten million homes and businesses in the North of England and Scotland.
T-Mobile Austria has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on joint IoT development with China’s Huawei, expanding an existing operator-vendor development partnership which has already spanned eight years; two months ago the pair demoed what they claimed as Europe’s first 5G drone.
Elsewhere, Huawei has also inked an MoU with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications & IT (MCIT) to support the Kingdom’s 2020 National Transformation Plan and Vision 2030 goals; as part of the agreement, Huawei will further develop an innovation centre working with IoT and artificial intelligence technologies to support Saudi entrepreneurship.
Lastly, Claro Argentina has partnered LoJack to launch the ‘Strix’ IoT platform, which connects automobiles, bicycles, homes and items such as bags/luggage to Claro’s 2G/3G/4G network via specialised IoT devices on a monthly subscription basis.
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