Vodafone has launched V by Vodafone, its consumer IoT offering that enables its customers to connect millions of home and leisure electronics products to the company’s global IoT network.
In what Vodafone is describing as the largest of its kind in the world, V by Vodafone allows customers to connect and manage a wide range of IoT devices and a product range that includes: a connected car dongle, a 4G security camera, a pet location and activity tracker and a bag location tracker.
Commenting on the new product launch, Vittorio Colao, chief executive of Vodafone Group, said: “The Internet of Things is already beginning to transform how businesses operate. Over the next decade, the expansion of IoT into consumer markets will bring about an equally dramatic shift in how people manage their daily lives, at home and in their leisure time. “V by Vodafone” makes it simple to connect a wide range of IoT-enabled devices, helping customers keep everyone and everything that matters to them safe and secure. We look forward to applying our world-leading expertise in IoT to help consumers make the most of the next phase of the global digital revolution.”
The Vodafone Group is already the mobile world leader in IoT with over 59 million IoT connections worldwide and an international network and services platform for a wide range of business-critical applications. V by Vodafone comprises of: The dedicated IoT sim card called V-Sim, the V by Vodafone smart app that provides users with a single and intuitive overview of all IoT enabled products registered to that account, straight-out-of-the-box connection to the international Vodafone IoT network in any of 32 countries, a single fixed monthly plan connected to the V-sim and in 2018 Vodafone will launch a new online marketplace for open to IoT developers and extending choice for customers.
For the launch Vodafone is focusing on four IoT products, more are due to come in 2018. V-Auto by Vodafone is a plug in a drive dongle that can be added to most vehicles on European roads manufactured since 2002. Once connected it offers a service called Auto SOS which provides contact and support in the event of an accident in their home country. Then there’s find my car, which enables the owner to track the whereabouts of their vehicle and lastly there’s safety score which acts as a type of personal analytics, it provides driving performance statistics on every journey. V-Camera by Vodafone is a mobile security camera that automatically connects to Vodafone’s IoT network. It allows customers to have continuous remote video monitoring in any location that has 3G or 4G connectivity. V-Pet is a location and activity tracker for pets, enabling customers to track their pet using GPS and mobile network coverage, they can also receive smartphone notifications if their pet strays from a designated area. V-bag by Vodafone is an advanced bag tracker that helps users reduce the risk of loss or theft. The news follows on from an announcement Vodafone UK made in October with the launch of two new service offerings, zero-rated data passes and capped pay-as-you-go products.
Speaking at the launch event, Nick Jeffery, Vodafone UK CEO said that we wanted to make it clear that “Vodafone is back”. Following that, Jeffery also spoke about the ongoing dispute between BT/EE and Three/CK Hutchinson and the UK regulator Ofcom, with Jeffery calling BT “slightly selfish” and delaying the rollout of 5G.