Japan-based NTT Docomo debuted an industrial refrigeration temperature and humidity monitoring service in the US, the first of several IoT use cases it plans to offer in the country.
The service, which costs $99 per month, includes metric monitoring by smartphone or computer, alerts when abnormalities arise and monthly trend reports. Docomo said it is offering the service through a collaboration with California-based IoT company myDevices, which uses LoRa technology to provide connectivity.
Docomo’s launch follows the introduction of its global IoT initiative in July, which aims to provide connectivity and support to Japanese enterprises with global IoT operations.
The operator noted the service is just the first of several it plans to launch in the US. It said it will “continue collaborating with cutting-edge US companies to introduce additional IoT solutions that help customers raise their productivity and create new value”.
Docomo’s move comes at a time of increased activity in the US IoT market as domestic operators move to offer similar services including asset tracking, fleet management, smart cities and more with low power network technologies.
Verizon and AT&T both launched LTE-M networks in 2017, and announced plans to roll out NB-IoT services in late 2018 and early 2019, respectively. T-Mobile US became the first major US operator to launch an NB-IoT network in July.
Source: https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/ntt-docomo-ventures-into-us-iot-market/