Tele2 announced a partnership with Dutch player Aerea intended to bolster its M2M connectivity propositions.

Aerea is “the exclusive Sigfox network operator for the Netherlands and already covers 85 per cent of the country”. Sigfox uses an “ultra narrow band” radio technology in licence-free frequencies (868MHz in Europe). This is said to “eliminate cost and energy-use barriers to wide implementation of IoT solutions by providing small-message communication and greatly extending the battery and service life of connected devices”.

This will be combined with Tele2’s cellular M2M propositions, with the combined portfolio likely to be “very attractive to system integrators that develop broad end-to-end solutions, for example in infrastructure and smart city developments”.

Ambitious player Tele2 has been bolstering its proposition for the IoT market in recent months, for example announcing deals with Telit Communications to offer “numerous new premium value-added services, VAS and connectivity solutions”; with L&T Technology services to target the transportation market; and with Cubic Telecom to address the PC and automotive OEM space.

The company is currently in the process of rolling out an LTE network in the Netherlands.