Airtel launches integrated IoT platform

  • April 14, 2021
  • Steve Rogerson

Indian communications provider Bharti Airtel has launched an integrated platform that lets enterprises harness the power of IoT and be ready for the emerging era of connected things.

Airtel IoT is an end-to-end platform with the capability to connect and manage billions of devices and applications in a secure and seamless fashion. At its core is Airtel’s 5G Ready network that comes with the option to deploy NB-IoT, 4G or 2G connectivity using eSIM technology.

“Enterprises have three key requirements for IoT,” said Ajay Chitkara, CEO of Airtel Business. “First, connectivity that future proof their device and application investments. Second, the security of their data. And third, seamless integration with existing IT systems to make the IoT data actionable. Airtel IoT is built on these insights to massively simplify the IoT journeys of enterprises.”

It also has a flexible set of APIs to eliminate cumbersome integration journeys and allow enterprises to streamline the process of connecting, collecting and analysing data through their existing workflow tools. And, importantly, Airtel’s telco grade security helps enterprises ensure that their IoT data are safe and available in real time for analytics and service delivery.

MG Motor, Pine Labs, Paytm, Kirloskar, BSES, Genus and Kent are among the businesses across manufacturing, logistics, automobiles, BFSI and utilities that are already using Airtel IoT.

Rajeev Chaba, president of MG Motor in India, said: “With the help of Airtel IoT, we have been able to provide the customers with India’s first internet car having i-Smart technology and 60+ connected car features. Airtel IoT allows us to access real-time infotainment and telematics. The partnership seeks to provide best-in-class connected car technology to our customers.”

India’s cellular connectivity based IoT market is forecasted to grow to Rs10,000cr by 2022, driven by connected cars and appliances, smart factories and utilities, and other use cases. Airtel Business serves more than 2500 large enterprises as well as one million medium and small enterprises, including start-ups.

Headquartered in India, Airtel is a telecommunications company with operations in 18 countries across south Asia and Africa. The company ranks among the top three mobile operators globally and its mobile network covers a population of over two billion people. Airtel is India’s largest integrated telecoms provider and the second largest mobile operator in Africa. At the end of last year, it had around 458 million customers across its operations.

Airtel’s portfolio includes high speed 4G and 4.5G mobile broadband, Xstream Fiber that promises speeds up to 1Gbit/s, converged digital TV through the Xstream 4K Hybrid Box, digital payments through Payments Bank as well as an integrated suite of services across connectivity, collaboration, cloud and security that serves over one million businesses. Airtel’s OTT services include Thanks app for self-care, Xstream app for video, Wynk Music for entertainment and BlueJeans for video conferencing.