Japan’s NTT Com in partnership with its subsidiary Transatel has launched ‘IoT Connect Mobile Type A’, a one-stop IoT connectivity service for mobile connectivity via SIM cards supported with a management platform and global IoT maintenance, aimed at responding to the diversified needs of clients that deploy equipment such as automobiles, construction or agricultural machinery, etc., in some 180 countries. NTT says that its new system enables all the clients’ devices and profiles for all network operators to be managed easily and boasts centralised connectivity management via a multi-IMSI solution, plus the ability to use one SIM to measure total data amounts (e.g. in-vehicle telematics for simultaneously collecting big data and providing infotainment such as in-car Wi-Fi), eliminating separate management and calculation of end-user communications on the part of the client, making it easier to start an end-user business.
Vodafone Qatar has launched its end-to-end ‘Assets Tracking’ IoT solution, which facilitates the delivery of real-time information such as asset location and environment conditions, can track multiple assets simultaneously, as well as deliver alerts and reports. Vodafone says the solution is suitable for a range of industries such as construction or transport, those which use heavy machinery or deal in logistics, or manage the distribution or delivery of high value goods and movable equipment, as just some examples.
Baicells Technologies has partnered Pollen Mobile on developing decentralised wireless networks for 4G/5G connectivity to households and enterprises across the US, utilising blockchain technology and ‘PollenCoin’ cryptocurrency to support an end-user network ownership/operation model. With the system also suited to a range of Industrial 4.0 IoT applications, Pollen founder Pronto is also developing autonomous trucks using the same network technology in remote sites that lack coverage from traditional mobile carriers.
Switzerland-based global nanosatellite IoT network operator Astrocast has agreed to acquire Hiber, a Netherlands-based, IoT-as-a-Service provider, conditional on the completion of Astrocast’s public offering on Euronext Growth Paris. Astrocast agreed to acquire all of Hiber’s shares in exchange for the issuance of new Astrocast shares, representing 16.5% of the latter’s share capital. Hiber provides asset monitoring and tracking solutions to industrial customers, through satellite-connected devices that monitor and track assets in remote locations, with clients including ExxonMobil, Shell, Oil Search, NAM and ENI. Fabien Jordan, CEO of Astrocast, noted: ‘With this acquisition, Astrocast will gain access to customer segments that we have historically had little traction with. The acquisition is expected to close immediately following the public offering. It is also subject to customary closing conditions.
India’s Vodafone Idea (Vi) has announced that its ‘SmartAgri’ agricultural project has been expanded to four additional states – Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Assam. SmartAgri was launched in 2020 in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and is focused on bringing together advanced technology interventions for helping farmers improve their livelihood and adopt sustainable farming methods, via leveraging technologies such as IoT, AI and real-time solutions
Telia Estonia is installing remote water meters based on NB-IoT technology in Tallin for water management firm Tallinna Vesi, under a plan to provide all of the utility company’s customers with remote smart meters by 2026. NB-IoT meters will initially be installed in 23,900 homes and businesses.
Thai mobile network operator DTAC, in partnership with Chaipattana Foundation and National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (NECTEC) have announced success in a farming project involving growing mushrooms out-of-season, using IoT and machine learning technology connected via a 700MHz 5G network. The partners’ system enables researchers to collect data about cultivation factors and record high-resolution multispectral images for crop inspection.
In Saudi Arabia, Mobily and Cisco have claimed the region’s ‘largest mobile IoT cloud platform’ enabling fully automated management for IoT devices, powered by Cisco’s IoT system with artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities. Majed Abdulaziz Alotaibi, CBO at Mobily, said the future-proof IoT deployment will support new automation, analytics, machine learning and IoT capabilities hosted locally, enabling new IoT use cases.
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