AT&T1 plans nationwide deployment of its LTE-M network for Internet of Things (IoT) ahead of schedule in second quarter of 2017. We're also planning LTE-M availability in Mexico by the end of the year.
The roll out will ultimately support a North American footprint across the AT&T 4G LTE network in the U.S. and Mexico. AT&T's 4G LTE network now covers nearly 400 million people in the U.S. and Mexico2.
The plans follow our successful pilot of the AT&T LTE-M Low-Power Wide-Area network at AT&T Labs in San Ramon, California. We switched on North America's first LTE-M enabled commercial site in October to support the pilot with other ecosystem players.
LTE-M will be the catalyst for large-scale IoT deployments. Devices designed to operate on the LTE-M network have advantages over traditional IoT connectivity options. You'll see:
Lower device costs
Longer battery life (expected up to 10 years)
Better coverage underground and deep inside buildings
Module size (as small as 1/6 the size of current modules).
"Thanks to the success of our pilot, we're on track to support LTE-M devices across our commercial network in the U.S. and Mexico ahead of schedule," said Chris Penrose, President, Internet of Things Solutions, AT&T. "We're seeing real momentum for LTE-M that will let us connect more end points than ever before. And we can do it at a lower cost with superior performance and carrier-grade security."
"We fully expect to have nationwide availability of LTE-M technology in Mexico by the end of 2017. This is huge for our enterprise customers. It's an important step to help accelerate the speed of business," said Kelly King, CEO, AT&T Mexico.
At AT&T Labs, we're working with tech leaders and providers to evaluate the performance of LTE-M network and chipset technology in a variety of situations.
We're testing LTE-M network and chipset technology in:
Smart water meters with Capstone Metering
Smart pallets with RM2
Smart beverage fountains with PepsiCo
Consumer devices with Samsung
Shipping container monitoring with Xirgo Technologies
Connected vehicles and fleet & asset management with CalAmp
Home security and automation with Telular.
"Seeing our devices live in the field shows our vision is quickly becoming reality. Our combined work has proven we have a technology that can ...
Source: http://www.channelpartnersonline.com/news/2017/02/att-speeds-up-ltem-deployment-for-iot.aspx