AT&T (News - Alert) is in the business of making itself the global powerhouse of IoT Connectivity, and it’s made another big step toward that goal with the recent announcement of a new suite of satellite connectivity services, designed to help partner companies track assets even in the most remote places. A partnership made in Tatooine, indeed.
AT&T has partnered with Globecomm, a solutions integrator and data management company, to launch a service that will allow satellite connectivity to work seamlessly with AT&T’s cellular network so businesses won’t have to contract separately for cellular and satellite services all over the world. The goal is to deliver one integrated solution for managing IoT devices, networks and applications.
“We’re offering a one-stop shop for IoT connectivity,” said Mike Troiano, VP, IoT Solutions, AT&T. “Our customers now have a flexible, reliable and highly secure service to monitor their assets nearly anywhere. They don’t have to choose one connectivity solution over the other – they can have the full package.”
Cellular is really great at connectivity in well-covered areas that are near power sources, especially in cases where lots of bandwidth is needed, but falls short in really remote cases. Which is where the satellite pairing jumps in to fill the gaps – lots of ability to handle package loads and accessible anywhere. Joining the two together and removing the customer pain of merging accounts themselves seems like a logical choice.
“Businesses want more real-time visibility into their assets on a global scale,” said Jon Kirchner, SVP, Products and Corporate Strategy, Globecomm. “We’re working with AT&T to offer seamless connectivity over a single platform. We’re helping businesses collect and analyze critical information wherever their assets are – to generate operational improvements and hard ROI – on land or at sea.”
This kind of partnership is part of a trend that will drive the future of the IoT: companies working together to give better solutions to developers and end users. This cooperation among complementary vendors and service providers is the only way that the industry can create the seamless Systems of Things we need. May the Fourth be with you.