T-Mobile US launched a commercial asset tracking solution, Roambee BeeAware, on its Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) network across the United States.
Roambee’s BeeAware asset tracker easily attaches to shipments, pallets, or individual assets to provide item-level location and temperature monitoring indoors, in-transit, and outdoors—leveraging T-Mobile’s NB-IoT network.
The T-Mobile BeeAware solution is priced at $10 per device per month, which includes portal access and NB-IoT data.
“We’re enabling mass market adoption of enterprise asset tracking!” said Sanjay Sharma, CEO of Roambee. “Powered by Roambee’s purposefully built, capex-free sensor technology and asset tracking platform, this solution eliminates the four biggest barriers to enterprise IoT adoption: high cost, cumbersome setup, constant maintenance, and complex data security. Together with T-Mobile’s NB-IoT network and Roambee’s proven solutions that global companies have come to rely on, we’re here to make IoT asset tracking universally deployable on a large scale.”
“We’ve hit a sweet spot of value and security with Narrowband IoT that we think will really kickstart the growth of the asset tracking segment,” said Mike Katz, Executive Vice President of T-Mobile for Business. “This is great news for companies that need an asset tracking platform but it also marks a new era for T-Mobile for Business. We’re combining the Un-carrier approach, the strength of our sales team and the reach of our nationwide network to deliver unique solutions. Much more to come!”
T-Mobile discusses its Connect IoT program with Ovum's Mike Sapien
A discussion of T-Mobile's CONNECT IoT Program, featuring Ovum's Mike Sapien, T-Mobile's Shelby Noakes and Lawrence Garcia.
T-Mobile US launches nationwide NB-IoT
NB-IoT operates on spectrum guard bands, which T-Mobile describes as the network equivalent of driving down the shoulders on the highway. It is a low power, wide area network (LPWAN) LTE-Advanced technology boasting low power usage, long battery life and low device cost. T-Mobile was also first to trial NB-IoT in the U.S. last year.
Significantly, T-Mobile’s NB-IoT plan costs just $6 a year – one tenth of Verizon’s Cat-M plans – for up to 12 MB per connected device. Several NB-IoT modules based on Qualcomm MDM9206 LTE IoT modem are certified for use on T-Mobile’s network.
T-Mobile worked with Ericsson, Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies to deploy nationwide NB-IoT.
T-mobile also announced its new partner program, T-Mobile CONNECT, to help IoT solution providers collaborate and bring their products and services to market on T-Mobile’s network -- and into the hands of customers -- more quickly.
