State-backed Kazakh operator Kazakhtelecom and its Uzbek counterpart Uzbektelecom (Uztelecom/Uzmobile) have forged a cooperation agreement to develop new business segments including smart cities, blockchain technology and IoT projects, as well as testing and implementing 5G technologies, Profit.kz reported.
Vodafone Group has introduced more connected products under the ‘V’ branded range in several countries. Vodafone UK this week announced the launch of the V-SOS wearable (for care of elderly/vulnerable people), the V-Kids Watch (with location/monitoring and communications apps for parents to stay in touch with children), and the V-Home smart home device suite (featuring security, safety and automation features). Vodafone Italy also launched V-Home services, whilst Vodafone Spain introduced the V-SOS and V-Kids Watch.
Deutsche Telekom announced that its ‘Park and Joy’ app will be launched in Bonn next week, allowing drivers to pay for car parking via mobile phone as part of a smart parking system it intends to roll out across Germany. The app also displays available parking spaces in the city and assists the driver to navigate to the location.
Onecom – which describes itself as the UK’s largest independent enterprise telecommunications provider – has signed an exclusive UK partnership agreement with Sony Mobile Communications to provision, support and develop IoT products and services. The partnership aims to ‘deliver a comprehensive range of IoT solutions for use in cross-vertical applications including manufacturing and supply chain, freight and transportation, healthcare, programmed service and maintenance, infrastructure and the public sector’. Onecom will manage and support Sony Mobile Communications’ devices and services using its own IoT platform that connects to 500 partner networks across 200 countries, its press release added. The first service to be offered is Sony’s next-generation real-time location system (RTLS) – a cloud-based application ‘delivering contextual awareness and operational intelligence to increase efficiency, improve quality management, optimise workflow and reduce costs’.
Japan’s NTT East Corp plans to provide IoT services in the ‘Minpaku’ private lodging sector, including applications such as room key management and monitoring of guests entering/leaving rooms/premises, The Japan News reports. An NTT spokesperson highlighted that business efficiency can be improved by adopting remote management systems that connect security cameras and various sensors to reduce the number of resident staff required. The popularity of lodging services is expected to grow among visitors to Japan toward the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. Elsewhere, NTT also sees a rapid expansion in IoT applications in areas including the unmanned observation of river levels.
Lastly, Telefonica has established an open IoT test laboratory in Mexico, under the ‘Thinx’ banner, joining similar facilities already launched in Spain and Chile. Telefonica says that Thinx labs provide ‘a realistic end-to-end environment of the new IoT technologies, enabling all our customers to test their new applications and devices under real network conditions and in an innovative and collaborative space’. Enrri Gonzalez, B2B vice president, said: ‘Mexico is a great country to invest and develop new technologies. Telefonica seeks to help third parties through their networks to deploy IoT solutions.’
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