The Internet of Things is clearly going to be a big market in the future but at the moment it is still very premature. Companies looking to find the next big thing are wanting to connect everything from door locks to toothbrushes. For the most part, these products connect to a hub in your home which can then connect to your router so it can access the internet. This is fine for home products, but IoT products that don't stay in your home are obviously unable to function this way.
To allow IoT products to connect directly to the internet, it will need to be connected to your cellular plan. So this week, T-Mobile has announced what they're calling the IoT Access packs. They will come with both a data plan as well as the modules you may need for the product. If the product will only be using a limited quantity of data, the first data plan will give the device 5MB per month. This plan costs $20 per year and per device for the first year, and then $6 per year and per device after.
For products that need to use more data, the second plan offers unlimited data at speeds of 64kbps. This unlimited data plan will cost you $25 per year and per device, but T-Mobile has a promotion that will save you $5 off the first year for each device you sign up for. No matter which plan you go with, T-Mobile will be covering the cost of a Sequans Cat1 module.
The company has also announced they are working on "Category M" and "Narrowband IoT" (NB-IoT), which are the next evolution of modules that should help save customers money over time. For more information about T-Mobile IoT Access packs, head on over to their IoT landing page here.
from xda-developers http://ift.tt/2iDNeGe
via IFTTT
