It looks like T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom are serious about making a dent in the IoT space.
The companies today announced that ICE Cobotics, a cleaning technologies and equipment business, has selected their T IoT service to connect and manage more than 7,500 new and existing cleaning units worldwide.
They didn’t reveal the length of the agreement or other particulars but said it was a long-term agreement whereby T IoT will deliver cellular connectivity to ICE Cobotics cleaning units. The includes the newest cleaning product, Cobi 18, a compact autonomous floor scrubber designed to clean 5,000 to 7,000 square feet per hour, starting at less than $20 a day.
When T-Mobile and DT announced their T IoT endeavor earlier this year, they talked up the global nature of their capabilities, with the intent to remove complexities associated with older IoT solutions and make it easier for multi-national corporations.
According to a press release, T IoT supports ICE Cobotics’ subscription model by delivering cleaning performance data and insights to customers in the retail, grocery, convenience, healthcare, higher education, and hospitality industries.
By way of example, they point to a major retail corporation with hundreds of robots in service. The cellular connectivity allows a customer’s maintenance and facilities team to view their Clean Score — goal-based cleaning performance data generated by ICE Cobotics’ fleet management software. This is designed to take the guess work out of tracking cleaning efficiency and confirming each location is clean.
Previously, they would have had to visit each store to inspect if cleaning happened, which takes time and money.
“This is what T IoT was designed for — helping enterprises solve global IoT challenges and deliver innovative solutions that make their customers want more,” said T-Mobile Business Group President Callie Field in a statement. “Like ICE Cobotics, T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom share a passion for the pursuit of simple and we salute their ongoing mission to make things easier for their customers.”
T-Mobile has said it wants to grow its share of the enterprise space to 20% by 2025. CEO Mike Sievert reiterated that again last week during an appearance at the Goldman Sachs conference, where he said T-Mobile’s lead in 5G is helping to change its relationship with enterprises significantly.