Carriers Move Forward into the IoT

September 13, 2016

September 13, 2013 — AT&T and Verizon have signaled their next moves as they navigate their way into the internet of things (IoT), partnering with companies that bring the latest technologies.

Sierra Wireless and AT&T will pilot next generation LTE-M2 network technologies this fall. The pilot is designed to spur LTE network connections for IoT devices. The Sierra Wireless LTE-M module will support the AT&T pilot with several technology companies in the San Francisco Bay Area in November.

AT&T’s LTE-M technology can be used for smarter meters, mHealth and wearables, commercially available in 2017. LTE-M technology promises to lower costs for gateway modules to the LTE network and increase battery life past 10 years.

Both the AT&T service and Sierra Wireless AirPrime LTE-M modules are expected be commercially available in the first half of 2017.

Verizon Teams with Qualcomm on IoT

Verizon and Qualcomm Technologies are working together on IoT products and services requiring low power and low bandwidth, it was announced at CTIA Super Mobility 2016 in Las Vegas.

Verizon will pre-integrate its ThingSpace IoT platform as-a-service within Qualcomm Technologies’ MDM9206 Category M (Cat M1) LTE modem early in 2017. Through this collaboration, the companies hope to reduce the cost of connecting intelligent devices on 4G LTE by using Category M1 as the standard.