Orange is to make its IoT connectivity available through UK cellular IoT company Eseye with localisation capabilities so enterprises can avoid permanent roaming problems.

Orange is a French telecoms operator with 242 million mobile customers in 26 countries. Its Orange Wholesale business unit specialises in wholesale global IoT connectivity.

Its international footprint includes 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G and LPWA connectivity and upcoming new radio technologies.

Indeed, Orange Wholesale France, with its roaming agreements specifically for IoT use cases across many countries and regions, provides Eseye with a building block in its mission to solve global IoT problems for enterprises. Not only does it increase Eseye’s footprint, but it also augments the deeper technical localisation agreements that Eseye already has in place in regions such as North America, Brazil and Turkey, where there are restrictions on permanent roaming agreements to localise devices.

Eseye brings deep device, connectivity and technical expertise to IoT projects, working closely with clients to build a custom strategy. With a vision to deliver every IoT project right first time from design to deployment, it has been first to market on numerous occasions. In particular, Eseye has solved permanent roaming problems for enterprises.

“Sponsored roaming is a highly effective way of delivering IoT services but unfortunately it doesn’t solve all use cases,” said Adam Hayes, chief operating officer at Eseye. “Adding the Orange Wholesale offering with Eseye’s unique technical localisation capabilities means we are able to offer wide-ranging access to local networks and roaming partners. Our vision is to provide the most comprehensive global IoT connectivity to the market. We pioneered the localisation trend, solving IoT problems in difficult jurisdictions such as North America and Brazil. As a result, we know how much engineering investment and work is involved in achieving full technical localisation and we are dedicated to ensuring we meet our customers’ evolving IoT deployment needs.”

Yannick Decaux, senior vice president at Orange Wholesale in France, added: “Eseye is an experienced, deeply technical, IoT connectivity provider and therefore the perfect partner for us to engage with via our global connectivity agreement. We have been impressed by the organisation’s commitment to solving some of the most challenging IoT problems and the company’s desire to make global IoT connectivity available to all enterprises; a vision that we also uphold. I am looking forward to working closely with the team and enabling Eseye to leverage our IoT roaming.”

With over 800 wholesale customers operators, Orange Wholesale provides network infrastructure access to more than 1.2 million kilometres of civil transmission arteries, broadband network access (copper and fibre) reaching nearly 40 million homes and businesses, including 13 million on third-party networks, mobile network access to all mobile networks covering mainland France and French overseas territories as well as to more than 700 international roaming agreements worldwide.

It also offers IoT connectivity all over the world to its international partners. Its networks are monitored round the clock with a dedicated customer support.

Supported by a partner ecosystem, Eseye seamlessly connects devices across 190 countries, agnostic to over 700 available global networks.