T-Mobile and Roambee Introduce “CAPEX-Free” Asset Tracking Service for Enterprises

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3Q 2019 | IN-5579

On July 15, 2019, T-Mobile announced its partnership with Roambee to introduce a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT)-based asset tracking service for enterprise customers in the United States at US$10 per device, per month using Roambee’s BeeAware solution. T-Mobile’s asset tracking service will include devices, connectivity, and Roambees Honeycomb Application Programming Interface (API), which enterprises can integrate into their existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to gain actionable insights through End-to-End (E2E) visibility of their connected assets. One of the key differentiating features of th solution is that it allows enterprise customers to implement an asset tracking solution with zero infrastructure costs and comes with no annual service contracts. In mid-2018, T-Mobile completed nationwide coverage of the United States with its NB-IoT network, which is a pertinent requirement for wide area asset tracking applications.

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T-Mobile Partners with Roambee to Announce NB-IoT Asset Tracking Solution

NEWS


On July 15, 2019, T-Mobile announced its partnership with Roambee to introduce a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT)-based asset tracking service for enterprise customers in the United States at US$10/device/month using Roambee’s BeeAware solution. T-Mobile’s asset tracking service will include devices, connectivity, and Roambees Honeycomb Application Programming Interface (API), which enterprises can integrate into their existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to gain actionable insights through End-to-End (E2E) visibility of their connected assets. One of the key differentiating features of th solution is that it allows enterprise customers to implement an asset tracking solution with zero infrastructure costs and comes with no annual service contracts. In mid-2018, T-Mobile completed nationwide coverage of the United States with its NB-IoT network, which is a pertinent requirement for wide area asset tracking applications.

Driving Down the Total Cost of Connecting Assets

IMPACT


T-Mobile was the first U.S. carrier to announce nationwide availability of its NB-IoT network in early 2018, and is also the first telco to have launched a NB-IoT-based asset tracking solution. Roambee’s asset trackers use Quectel module (NB-IoT only) and can operate autonomously for 2500 data transmissions or 100 days on 1hour ping frequency using a 2000 mA rechargeable battery. The tracker includes a full GPS antenna that is turned on by default but can go into sleep mode when used indoors. The asset tracker can also use T-Mobile’s Location-Based Service (LBS) using network infrastructure cell ID to provide location accuracy of 250 meters to 500 meters. The asset trackers were custom built to operate on the T-Mobile network and, along with location tracking, can also monitor temperature. According to Roambee, the biggest differentiator of the NB-IoT asset tracker compared to existing devices is that it is nearly one third of the cost and uses one third of the power compared to 4G device. This the first NB-IoT-based tracking solution commercially launched in the United States that does not require upfront device costs and has no annual contracts. Based on the agreement, T-Mobile will provide its enterprise customers first level (L1) customer service addressing network and SIM level support and Roambee will provide the reverse logistics to collect the devices after use and provide 24/7 product and service related support through its Network Operations Centres.

T-Mobile and Roambee’s asset tracking service at US$10/unit is a disruptive track and trace solution because it offers the lowest cost cellular solution. The lack or necessity of deploying any infrastructure would provide an entry point for enterprise customers to trial and test new tracking use cases within their supply chains. AT&T offers the Asset Tracker 1 (AT1), which is a multi-sensor device with built-in humidity, light, temperature, and impact sensors and has device autonomy of five years on one data transmission per day. AT&T offers this solution at a US$8/month service plan that includes 1 MB monthly data cost and application software but does not include the hardware costs. AT&T offers a supply chain tracking solution using the Micron Prime Bolt Mini tracker device and its Asset Management Operations Center (AMOC) platform to track the location and condition of packages. AT&T offers its LTE-M-based asset tracking solution using the Micron Prime device, commercially available in a bundle of 10 devices for US$975 with a recurring charge of US$75/month. Similarly, Verizon ThingSpace offers the Critical Asset Sensor, which is a multi-sensor device that measures location, temperature, humidity, vibration, shock, tilt, pressure, and light. Verizon offers this as an E2E asset management solution integrating the cost of device hardware, LTE-M connectivity, and ThingSpace platform that can integrate into Amazon Web Services(AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud platforms with a yearly subscription. The battery powered device also has a GPS radio and can operate autonomously for up to one year on one data transmission per day.

Early adoption of the T-Mobile tracking service will take place in the industrial equipment and tools rental market and enable continuous, real-time tracking capabilities to control the cost of redistributing assets, limit storage costs, and monitor the health of the equipment. Enterprise customers rent tools from equipment pooling companies ranging from power generators to welders at US$50 to US$69/day or US$350 to US$555/month. Currently, tool and equipment rentals are managed manually through a combination of paper documentation and barcode-based tracking solutions using handheld scanners.

Battery Autonomy versus Device Costs

RECOMMENDATIONS


According to ABI research’s recently published report LPWA in Industrial Applications Market Tracker, NB-IoT-based asset trackers in North America will connect nearly 60 million industrial assets by 2026. Early adoption of NB-IoT enabled asset trackers will be driven by their adoption in the industrial equipmental and power tool rental service market, which will account for nearly 60% of NB-IoT connections in 2019. However, it’s worth noting that the Total Adressable Market (TAM) for industrial equipment and power tools rental in North America, a subset of the total industrial asset tracking market, is around 8 million end-points. Roambee’s re-usable hardware tracker solution will give enterprise customers much needed flexibility to trial and track a variety of assets and but the solution at US$10/month will predominantly meet the requirements of tracking high-to-medium value returnable or rental assets. The tracker device with a battery life autonomy of up to 90 days will need to be replaced or recharged and eventually returned, that will have relatively higher maintenance cost for applications such as tracking pallets or Returnable Transport Packages(RTPs). As more power efficient tracker devices become available next year that can support multi-year battery autonomy, pallet tracking will become the biggest asset tracking use case that will account for nearly 75% of all NB-IoT-based tracked assets in 2026.

Large industrial companies will benefit the most from the location data of their connected assets, not only by reducing the loss of assets, but also by providing visibility into the complex subcontractor supply chain flows. The TAM for pallets in the North American market in 2018 was 1.8 billion units. However early adoption will take place in tracking plastic pallets that account for under 12% of the pallet stock. Plastic pallets are used in various pharmaceutical, retail, and food and beverage industries that require pallets to be thoroughly cleaned before they are reused in order to adhere to reional health and food safety standards, such as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP). For the pallet tracking solution market to witness wider adoption, asset trackers will need to be fixed permanently to the pallet and should have battery autonomy of at least three years. While keeping the cost of tracker devices low is important for their adoption in tracking low-to-medium value assets, in many use cases battery autonomy will take precedence, as the cost of maintaining and servicing large volumes of tracker devices for an enterprise customer can easily break the business case.