Canadian telecom operator Telus has launched the Telus IoT Shop in Canada, a self-serve online portal that enables businesses to purchase and manage prepaid IoT connectivity.
According to Telus, purchasing IoT connectivity has previously meant committing to volume requirements, credit checks and other processes that made it difficult for smaller companies and organizations to test and deploy relatively smaller quantities of IoT devices.
“For Canadian businesses innovating in the IoT space, direct access to reliable cellular connectivity is crucial. Telus is excited to launch the IoT Shop, which removes barriers to entry and increases accessibility to the Telus IoT network,” said Michael Cihra, Vice President, IoT, Telus. “The IoT Shop was built based on customer feedback to ensure that the user experience, management tools and services meet the demands of the innovators that are shaping Canada’s growing IoT ecosystem.”
The Telus IoT Shop lets customers pay with a credit card, monitor data usage online, change rate plans and manage SIM statuses through the IoT Console account management dashboard, Telus said. Network access can be provided for one to 100 SIM cards on an account, and the IoT Shop offers data plan options including a minimum of 100 MB or a maximum 40 GB of shareable data. To ensure devices stay connected, data plans auto renew on a 30-day cycle, or as soon as the data pool is exhausted.
“The Telus IoT Shop has made ordering and managing IoT SIMs an easy, painless experience.” said Casey Matson-Dekay, CTO at Loop Insights. “The self-serve portal allowed me to order the SIMs I needed only a few days before they needed to be deployed. Once our devices were live, I immediately had full visibility into their usage and status, which helps Loop Insights remain agile and informed while we evolve our products.”
In October 2018, Telus launched its LTE-M low-power wide-area (LPWA) network to strengthen its internet of things strategy in Canada.
Telus’ LTE-M network initially provided coverage across British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, plus major centres in Manitoba.
Telus’ LTE-M network was built on licensed cellular standards-based technology and designed to be fully compatible with 5G technologies, the company has said. The telco said that the main aim of its launch was to support low-power wide-area IoT applications such as smart cities, logistics and agriculture.
Telus also announced last year the launch of several tools to help developers to create new offerings in the IoT ecosystem. These tools include:
– Telus LTE-M Starter Kit: a kit to enable developers and tech companies to rapidly prototype cellular connected IoT devices utilizing Telus’s LTE-M network.
– Telus LTE-M Asset Monitor: a certified device that can plug into existing applications on day one to collect data such as location, motion, and temperature.
– Certified LTE-M modules: a selection of low-cost LTE-M modules that are approved for use with the TELUS network to accelerate deployment.
