Cloud communications company Twilio teamed up with operator T-Mobile US to launch a new developer platform for the latter’s narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) network.

The platform is part of an ongoing collaboration between the two companies, which began two years ago with the rollout of developer tools for cellular IoT products.

Twilio said the platform will offer developers access to NB-IoT SIMs, a hardware starter pack including sensors and an NB-IoT module, and the company’s Breakout software development kit. Chetan Chaudhary, VP of IoT at Twilio, said in a statement the platform will help “remove barriers so developers can focus on building devices and dreaming up new use cases that don’t yet exist”.

Developers in the US will gain beta access starting in early 2019, with pricing starting at $2 per month.

The move follows the launch of T-Mobile’s NB-IoT network in July, and comes as the operator aims to secure a first-mover advantage in the market.

Tom Rebbeck, research director for enterprise and IoT at Analysys Mason, noted the market for NB-IoT connectivity could surpass 3 billion connections by 2026, with potential applications in consumer electronics, utilities, agriculture, smart cities and other vertical markets. He added “new models that are built for scale, such as Twilio’s, are likely to become the standard for much of the market”.