Satellite Comms: Broad Coverage in Tough-to-Reach Areas
O2 Telefónica is expanding its international network coverage for the Internet of Things (IoT) for its business customers. This is made possible by the new partnership with the IoT satellite operator OQ Technology. O2 Telefónica Internet of Things
From the second quarter of 2024, O2 Telefónica will offer business customers worldwide 5G roaming availability, enabling the use of Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) solutions on all continents and oceans. OQ Technology’s satellite network will be connected via a Telefónica IPX cloud and integrated into Kite. Kite is O2 Telefónica’s award-winning IoT connectivity management platform. It enables business customers to monitor and control their SIM cards in real-time from anywhere in the world.
New business opportunities in remote areas
Satellite-based networking enables a wide range of Internet of Things applications where terrestrial networks reach their limits. For example, stationary IoT devices such as sensors in agriculture can be connected to the mobile network in remote areas. The same applies to IoT applications in the world’s oceans.
In cooperation with OQ Technology, O2 Telefónica offers global IoT network coverage as a hybrid mobile-satellite connectivity service. O2 Telefónica transmits the data from the connectivity service to the customer via a secure connection. To this end, interested companies simply conclude a contract (service level agreement) with O2 Telefónica.
Nikolaos Kalivianakis, Director of Business Solutions at O2 Telefónica, explains: “By working with OQ Technology, we are combining their global coverage with our innovative IoT connectivity management platform. This satellite-based IoT connectivity has the potential to significantly increase the efficiency and productivity of various industries. As a result, the use of remote monitoring and asset management solutions in particular will increase significantly. With our solution, we offer companies the opportunity to easily, securely, cost-effectively, and reliably connect their IoT devices worldwide.”
Omar Qaise, founder and CEO of OQ Technology, said: “We are delighted that the partnership with Telefónica marks a milestone in OQ Technology’s history and enables O2 Telefónica users to enjoy 5G IoT roaming services on our global network.”
New service – IoT Data Ready O2 Telefónica Internet of Things
Telefónica’s IoT management platform Kite will offer the new “IoT Data Ready” service at the beginning of 2024. This service of the Kite platform simplifies and improves the processing of data generated by NB-IoT devices, is easy to integrate, and acts as a bridge to existing IT systems. The security and integrity of the transmitted data is guaranteed. “IoT Data Ready” enables companies to communicate more cost-effectively and with less power consumption with their end devices via terrestrial and non-terrestrial NB-IoT networks with low bandwidth. This allows companies to use their IoT devices more efficiently and for longer. This is made possible by the leaner UDP transmission protocol, which can quadruple the battery life of IoT devices.
In addition, “IoT Data Ready” reduces the amount of data transmitted, resulting in significant cost savings for satellite-based connectivity. IoT Data Ready also makes it easier to integrate hybrid IoT devices that communicate via non-terrestrial and terrestrial O2 Telefónica home and partner networks into platforms such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS and Google Cloud. This allows companies to easily integrate their IoT data into existing cloud infrastructures and take advantage of these platforms.
