AT&T has agreed with Nokia to use the Finnish vendor’s ‘worldwide IoT network grid’ (WING) to offer enterprise customers global IoT connectivity. Nokia’s WING service covers core network, dedicated IoT operations, billing, security, and data analytics.
Nokia said the pair will develop, test and launch new ‘internet of things’ (IoT) services, including for transportation, health, manufacturing, retail, agriculture, utilities, consumer electronics and smart cities. It Commercial deployment starts later this year.
The WING IoT network is designed to help network operators and enterprises launch and expand IoT services quickly, and on a wider global scale, and also provide roaming for such applications as connected vehicles and assets. Nokia said its core network assets will available in more than 20 countries across Europe, Asia, North America, South America, and the Middle East by the first quarter of 2020.
AT&T already offers global IoT solutions through a combination of owned and third party-provided capabilities that enable connectivity in more than 200 countries and territories. Connected devices are deployed and controlled easily and quickly in multiple countries using a single global SIM.
Nokia’s WING IoT network is available as a white label managed-service so AT&T can easily offer the same privileges to its own enterprise customers under its own brand.
AT&T’s cloud-based ‘multi-network connect’ platform, which provides enterprises with a single portal to manage multiple cellular and satellite networks, operators and regions, will simplify connectivity and platform capabilities for AT&T’s use of the WING IoT network.
Nokia said the collaboration will help “set the stage for the evolution to global 5G”, and afford AT&T and its customers the opportunity to address specific business requirements through capabilities like 5G network slicing, enabling a single network to be partitioned into multiple networks.
Chris Penrose, president of IoT solutions at AT&T, said: “Our work with Nokia WING will help clear away the complexity of large-scale IoT adoption so that our customers can unlock the potential of IoT worldwide. Boosted by Nokia’s globally deployed ‘one-stop shop’ network technology, we can be more nimble and responsive to our customers’ needs.”
Sanjay Goel, president of global services at Nokia, said: “This collaboration proves our commitment to the global IoT market, providing seamless connectivity across geographical borders and technologies. With AT&T’s leading position in IoT and proven experience meeting real customer needs, we have a winning combination to bolster our global IoT capabilities.”
