UK Mobile Carriers and IoT

Now that the main mobile carriers in the UK have cracked the mobile market, they are looking to other areas to expand their empires.

17:15 10 November 2017

Their attention has been drawn to the Internet of Things.  Companies such as O2 and Vodafone, have begun to expand into smart home gear and an IOT device range under the heading of "V by Vodafone," respectively.

 

For instance, some European customers and those in the UK, can now take advantage of bag and pet trackers and connected cameras to name but a few.

 

If Vodafone customers, whose cars were manufactured in or after 2002, want to remotely track their cars, they can make use of the V-Auto.  This is a dongle that plugs into the car's OBD-II port.  the dongle collects data from each car journey and can provide the driver with a driver safety rating based on this data. 

 

In the unfortunate event of an accident, the car's Auto SOS will engage.  What will then happen is that it will call the driver to check everything is OK and if there is no response, the emergency services will be notified,

 

If Vodafone customers do want to take advantage of this handy feature, they 

can buy the device for £80 with a monthly subscription of £4. to maintain contact on the network.

 

For those pet lovers, who want to keep  close eye on their moggy or pooch, a V-Pet may be the way to go.  You can keep track of their location and activity of your pet and even be alerted when your furry friend wanders out of a specified zone.

 

This will cost £50, again with a £4 monthly subscription fee.

 

These are just some of the devices currently available from Vodafone

 

However, so long as you have an IOT device with which a cellular connection is supported, you can purchase a SIM card for approximately £5 and £3-£4 per month and stick it to a device,

 

It does remain an advantage, to use the Vodafone platform, so that all devices can be used together through one Vodafone branded app.