Two of the biggest global players in the Internet of Things (IoT) Vodafone and China Mobile have joined forces to resell each other’s services for the first time.
Under a new agreement each company will share new IoT project opportunities. Vodafone customers will be given access to China Mobile IoT SIMS for deployments in China, and China Mobile customers wanting to offer IoT-enabled products outside of China will use Vodafone’s Global IoT SIM and management platform.
Vodafone will manage all elements of the operational model for its customers including on-boarding, SIM and logistics as well as billing and support. The company will effectively act as a single point of contact for its enterprise IoT customers wanting to move into China.
China Mobile will discuss the possibility for IoT sales opportunities with Vodafone for companies wanting to expand outside of China.
Vodafone’s Global Director of IoT, Stefano Gastaut, noted: “This is an important step in the global expansion of IoT. China is leading the way in IoT adoption and has the world’s largest domestic market for IoT enabled services. This agreement with China Mobile will give our customers a route to the exciting Chinese market and provide a bridge for China Mobile’s customer to the rest of the world.”
China Mobile International’s Head of Mobile Business Partnership, Dorothy Lin, added: “Having reached over 200 million IoT connections last year, China Mobile target to increase the connections by 60% in 2018. Together with Vodafone we will be able to offer customers the greatest possible reach in regards to IoT services. We are excited about the opportunities this agreement will bring to both companies and the industry as a whole.”