Deutsche Telekom has announced a significant move to enhance its global presence in the Internet of Things (IoT) sector. Through its subsidiary, Deutsche Telekom IoT, the company has sealed an agreement with the Bridge Alliance, a consortium of 35 mobile communications firms spanning Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. This agreement marks Deutsche Telekom as the first European telecom giant to join this prominent alliance.
The Bridge Alliance delivers connectivity and integrated value-added services, such as IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions, to its members. Dennis Nikles, managing director of Deutsche Telekom IoT, stated, “We are pooling the know-how and technical expertise of all members. Together, we always offer our customers the best connectivity solution for their global challenge.” This collaboration aims to simplify the process for Asian companies to engage in IoT business in Europe, especially given the rise in market demand for Asian electric vehicles in Europe. Conversely, European customers will also benefit from an all-encompassing global offering, ensuring ease of use and management.
The carrier emphasized that local partners within the member countries would handle local customer support, offering streamlined services. Deutsche Telekom’s customers can now exploit their global IoT connectivity solution with a single contract, a unified service team, and one access point for managing IoT connections. This structure simplifies procurement processes, offering pre-optimized contracts, simplified billing, and uniform global service level agreements (SLAs).
Bridge Alliance encompasses notable members like China Telecom, China Unicom, Maxis, Airtel, Telkomsel, SK Telecom, Softbank, Globe, Singtel, and stc, to name a few.
Adding to its global capabilities, Deutsche Telekom recently unveiled new tariffs for its satellite IoT services. This complements its terrestrial communications capabilities through NB-IoT, LTE-M, 4G, and 5G, resulting in highly reliable hybrid global connectivity. The company boasts roaming agreements with over 600 international partners, reinforcing its global reach.
In addition to its IoT advancements, Deutsche Telekom revealed an update on its 5G infrastructure. Currently, 12,150 of its 5G antennas in 920 cities utilize the 3.6 GHz spectrum band. Impressively, 97% of German households can now access Deutsche Telekom’s 5G network, while LTE coverage spans 99% of households.
Moreover, Deutsche Telekom plans to introduce its 5G Standalone (SA) service in Germany by the end of this year. Srini Gopalan, CEO of Telekom Deutschland, indicated that business customers are already leveraging the technology for specialized applications such as network slicing for live TV broadcasts and in 5G campus networks for industrial and research purposes.
This strategic alliance with the Bridge Alliance and the expansion of Deutsche Telekom’s 5G infrastructure underscore the company’s commitment to maintaining a leading edge in the global telecommunications landscape, offering seamless and extensive connectivity solutions both in IoT and beyond.
