Telefónica has launched an exclusive network for IoT applications in Colombia.

The Movistar network works at low power and long range, which allows better performance in communications and improved battery operation in the devices.

This technology is available for traditional M2M connectivity users and Telefónica’s Kite managed connectivity platform.

Colombia is the second country to join the deployment of this technology, within the evolution plan in Telefónica’s Hispanoamérica region.

Movistar Empresas has deployed the Cat-M1 network in Colombia to allow companies to connect their IoT devices with better energy efficiency. It is characterised by working at low power and long range. This technology is available for traditional M2M connectivity users and with Kite, a managed IoT connectivity platform with which companies can control and monitor their connected devices in real time, remotely and from anywhere in the world.

The Cat-M1 network is designed for massive connections of industrial devices and should ensure the efficiency and technical reliability in M2M connections that businesses require in their digital transformation. Some use cases that could be leveraged are fleet management, telemetry, smart lighting, precision agriculture, smart metering and smart cities.

“Movistar Empresas has numerous proprietary tools in its portfolio to connect objects and help companies digitally transform by extracting maximum value from data,” said Danghelly Rodriguez, Telefónica Hispanoamérica IoT and big data manager. “The development of the Cat-M1 Movistar network is the evolution of communications between M2M devices, over the mobile data network, enabling the massification of the IoT. The Cat-M1 network covers the needs of companies in different sectors as it allows the transfer of small data packets with low latency, coverage in hard-to-reach areas, savings in device costs and longer battery life, contributing to the operational efficiency and sustainability of our clients.”

In Latin America, Movistar Empresas (www.movistar.com.co/empresas) has more than six million IoT connections. The company has experience in IoT services globally.

Telefónica Hispanoamérica is the group unit that brings together the assets and operations in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela. It has launched a multi-country operating model to increase the value of its assets in Latin America through simplification and expansion.