Partnership between emnify and Claro offers cellular connectivity for IoT

A partnership between Germany’s emnify, a provider of cloud-native cellular connectivity services for the Internet of Things (IoT), and Claro Brasil aims to reduce the complexity of distributed deployments worldwide and thus generate new growth opportunities for IoT businesses.

emnify’s SuperNetwork solution offers a proprietary, independent network for keeping IoT device data in the cloud and integrating it with various applications. And this new association with Claro will add Brazil to the SuperNetwork and thus guarantee global reach for Brazilian IoT companies.

According to emnify, the partnership is an important step in the company’s commitment to serving challenging markets while maintaining consistent capabilities in a landscape where coverage and regulatory standards are highly fragmented. “emnify’s entry into Brazil demonstrates the company’s agility to address cloud-native connectivity and innovate quickly so that companies in the IoT sector can exploit more opportunities and achieve successful business outcomes,” emnify said in a press release.

Transforma Insights predicts that cellular-based IoT connections in Brazil will grow from 29 million at the end of 2022 to 69 million at the end of 2027, which represents a compound annual growth rate of 19.1%.

“Brazil is the most prominent example of a country in which strict roaming regulations are a challenge for companies in the IoT sector that want to take advantage of more market opportunities. Brazilian companies looking to have consistent management of global IoT deployments need a solution that specifically meets the demands of the local market,” explains Matt Hatton, founding partner of Transforma Insights.

As an AWS technology partner, emnify will enable a complete, native IoT cloud stack in Brazil, including connectivity features. In this way, local customers will be able to count on the native integration of SuperNetwork with AWS’s global IoT application stack.

“Wherever the company deploys IoT devices, SuperNetwork offers a consistent set of features, such as connectivity management, cross-network insights, device and data security and a complete set of APIs, which provide new levels of scalability and reduce operational problems,” says Frank Stoecker, CEO of emnify.

Interest in Brazil

Another recent move by Germany’s emnify in Brazil, also in August, was the purchase of Cinco Telecom, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) from the J. Safra group, mainly focused on Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication and the Internet of Things (IoT).

With the acquisition, emnify now holds a license from Anatel and maintains an agreement with Claro for use of the network. The value of the deal has not been disclosed. The general director of emnify in Brazil,  Carlos Campos, says he is not frightened by the complexity of the concentrated Brazilian market, with few large operators. He also explained that emnify needed Cinco Telecom’s structure to operate in the country, since permanent roaming is not allowed in Brazil.

The segment of the Brazilian market that should initially make up the largest slice of emnify’s future client base is logistics, which faces challenges due to the majority of transportation by road and safety problems. Other sectors to be explored by emnify in Brazil are means of payment, smart cities, health, agribusiness and urban mobility, according to Campos.

Also via satellite

Last March, emnify announced another strategic and technological collaboration, this time in the field of satellite connectivity. The partner in this initiative is Skylo, a provider of non-terrestrial network (NTN) services. The cooperation will allow emnify customers to use 3GPP Release 17 NTN-compliant equipment to establish terrestrial, cellular and satellite IoT connections. The solution will be underpinned by Skylo’s technology and managed by emnify’s unique web portal and APIs.

The partnership has its eye on an emerging revolution in the area of IoT connectivity, with terrestrial and satellite mobile communications systems integrated into a unified “network of networks” with more resilient, accessible and flexible connections. IoT solutions using this type of network will not have to change their current operation, as terrestrial and satellite connectivity will be available on the same IoT device.

“With this partnership, we are redefining the future of IoT connectivity. There is no need for hybrid or proprietary solutions and changes in service subscriptions. The cooperation between emnify and Skylo will provide cost-effective universal connectivity and enable IoT solutions to exploit all the value inherent in their device sets through emnify’s cloud infrastructure,” explains Alexander Schebler, Vice President of Network Access at emnify.

The IoT satellite connectivity market is gaining momentum around the world with advances in the construction and launch of megaconstellations in low earth orbit (LEO). The IoT ecosystem is adopting low earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology for its advantages, such as reducing costs and creating new revenue streams.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the satellite IoT connectivity market is gaining momentum worldwide due to advances in the launch of LEO constellations. In addition, collaboration between standards, such as LPWAN and cellular IoT, is driving market growth. Companies are deploying hybrid terrestrial and satellite networks due to the benefits generated by dual-mode connectivity that can also enable new IoT use cases in areas with poor LPWAN and/or cellular network coverage.