EE Gets The UK Hooked Up To The IoT

The UK is about to get a bit more connected thanks to the launch of the country’s first 4G-enabled M2M service from EE.

The carrier has today announced EE Connect, which it says will help push forward the future of smart, connected technology in the UK, meaning products such as driverless cars and smart homes can be built and rolled out faster than before.

EE says that there are currently more than two million machines communicating to each other over the EE 2G and 3G network, a figure it predicts will double to more than four million by 2017, meaning that the extra bandwidth provided by 4G is now a necessity.

Interested parties can register from today, with EE Connect open to all EE business and public sector customers.

Get connected

The EE Connect service will give customers real-time monitoring of all devices, with the ability to monitor and manage connected devices remotely via the EE Control Centre. This will allow users to remotely diagnose and repair issues with connected machines in the field as well as an ability to set up powerful automation rules to increase efficiency, resilience and manageability.

The company is also providing a dedicated M2M service team to support customers with expert assistance.

“Every day, the strength and reliability of our 4G network allows businesses to develop innovative connected products and services that improve our lives – whether it’s telematics in cars that help improve driving and road safety, healthcare applications that drastically cut testing and diagnosis times, or connected infrastructure that creates smarter and more efficient public services,” said Gerry McQuade, chief marketing and sales officer at EE Business.

“EE Connect provides the best M2M management capabilities, on the best network, with the best service through a dedicated support team, which together is helping businesses create the connected technologies of tomorrow.”

The launch is part of EE’s plans to invest £1.5bn in its network over the next three years, with a particular focus on rural parts of the UK.

This is targeted to reach 90 percent of the UK by the end of 2017, with high capacity 4G+ enabled in 20 of the busiest UK cities, in order to help support the growth of the Internet of Things.

What do you know about the Internet of Things? Take our quiz!