The internet of things (IoT) is no longer a future technology. It’s all around us here in the present. And many services and activities we take for granted couldn’t work without it.
"It's here already," says Karl McDermott, head of IoT with Three Ireland. "Every car has it and a lot of city bike rental schemes are using it. Cars come with sim cards built into them and they can be controlled remotely or communicate with HQ if something goes wrong."
And the technology is evolving all the time. “We are continuing to invest in products and solutions, and the launch of new technologies such as Narrowband-IoT as well as 5G services,” says McDermott.
Narrowband IoT is a low power wide area network (LPWAN) radio technology that enables connections to large numbers of low-powered devices such as sensors.
“LPWAN technology allows the signal to go further but with not as much data, and it facilitates a higher density of devices,” says McDermott. That would be well suited to connecting things such as traffic lights, rubbish bins or water-level sensors in a smart city context.
"It enables a proliferation of devices, but you couldn't use it for something like CCTV. [But] 5G will take that to the next level with greatly increased capacity. Ireland will never have a problem with device density in the 5G world."
Three has been number one in the market for IoT since mid-2020, he adds. “During 2020, we delivered 81 per cent of the market growth. The market grew by 368,000 connections in 2020, and we provided 300,000 of them. It has really taken off for us.
“The market has been growing anyway but we are growing faster than the market. Our customers want to implement IoT solutions, and they are coming to Three for support with that.”
Keep trucking
The increasing capability of the technology is driving that growth. “Years ago, it was called M2M – machine-to-machine communications – but users didn’t know where the machines were. With IoT they know where the machine is at all times and they can talk directly to the sim if they need to.”
Telematics is one very practical use case. Telematics monitors cars, trucks, equipment and other assets by using GPS and on-board communications technology.
"A number of our customers have trucks moving around all over Europe and the world. They can use the technology to minimise costs by changing the rate plan for the sim if the truck goes into countries outside the EU where roaming charges will apply. We have customers going to Uzbekistan, Turkestan and other countries in that region, for example."
Another example is EI Electronics, which has smoke alarms installed in social housing throughout the UK. "These all contain Irish sims, which can roam to any UK network.
"Europcar uses our Sims in their fleet. If a car is late back, they can connect with the sim to find out where it is. They also know things like the speed the car was doing if it was involved in accident. This help bring down insurance premiums.
"On Arranmore island, we have been able to support the fishing community by using IoT to help them find buoys at night."
End-to-end support
Customers are choosing Three for more than just technology reasons, says McDermott. “Our IoT customers don’t want to just buy connectivity, they want support as well. They want help with designing the solution, testing it, implementing it and so on. They want end-to-end support and service. They want a provider who will work with them all the way through.
“Our IoT solutions are built and supported locally in Ireland. Irish customers want to deal with people who understand their market and can help them succeed in that market.
“Our presales, customer care, technical and delivery support are all based here in Ireland, making it easy for us to get the appropriate skills to the customer when they need them. We bring both technical and business experience to customers, combining the two to develop impactful solutions.
“The fact that Three is known as the leading operator for mobile data means that customers trust us to deliver data to their IoT devices. We now carry more data than all other providers in Ireland combined. We also have the best and fastest 5G coverage in the country. Customers know they are placing their IoT needs in a safe pair of hands when they come to Three.”