The agreement will see Inmarsat providing satellite connectivity and JT offering global cellular data to deliver a “holistic connectivity solution” for IoT connectivity, Inmarsat claimed.
The partnership will leverage JT’s portfolio of 600 global roaming agreements to provide a global IoT solution underpinned by Inmarsat’s satellite network.
Tom Noel, managing director, international division, at JT said: “We are delighted to be supporting Inmarsat in rolling out a global connectivity solution, to support its IoT network. With over 600 direct roaming partners, we can offer a multi-network communications solution that spans almost every country in the world, and our M2M sim solution is purpose built to deliver the connectivity required for IoT.
“We are looking forward to taking this partnership with Inmarsat forward and continuing to service our customers with high-speed, reliable connectivity, wherever they are in the world.”
To demo the potential of the joint IoT offering, Inmarsat and JT teamed with IoT solutions provider Actility to launch a smart city initiative in Kigali, Rwanda. The satellite-supported IoT network spans the entire city and uses JT’s M2M SIM cards within Actility base stations, offering connectivity for IoT applications.
Projects deployed in Kigali based on this IoT network include a smart bus project, real-time monitoring of air pollution in the city, a precision farming project, and a connected surveillance system.
Paul Gudonis, president of Inmarsat Enterprise, said: “This is a hugely important partnership for Inmarsat. Integrating a global cellular solution with our satellite communication network means that we can provide all of the connectivity necessary for an IoT installation, to anywhere in the world.
“This gives us a much more powerful offering when we bring our IoT solutions to the market, as it means our customers only need to liaise with one provider, not go to one company for satellite connectivity and another for cellular data.”
