Telstra secured its largest ever IoT deal by value and number of connections, a AUD100 million ($71 million) contract with utility services company Intellihub.

The ten-year agreement involves delivering up to 4.1 million IoT SIMs for Intellihub’s smart meters, providing real-time insights to manage the different elements of an energy network.

David Burns, group executive for Telstra Enterprise, stated it had connected around 500,000 Intellihub smart meters to its IoT network.

Intellihub is a supplier of smart metering services for Telstra Energy customers and has deployed more than 1 million meters in Australia and New Zealand.

Telstra claims more than 5 million devices are connected to its IoT networks, with NB-IoT coverage of 4 million sq-kms and LTE-M coverage at around 3 million sq-kms.

Burns added “the importance of IoT continues to grow”, with more than 50,000 new devices connected to Telstra’s IoT networks each month.

The Intellihub deal trumps an agreement with Yarra Valley Water to connect 1 million devices signed in 2021.