George LeBron, head of market development and one of those new employees, met with Automation World to discuss Telenor Connexion’s experience and plans.
Telenor’s mission is to help companies to design and operate embedded mobile communications in industrial, medical and other machines, vehicles and devices. Telenor Connexion offers what in the telecom industry is called a service-management platform (SMP) for business-to-business wireless connectivity. SMPs provide essential connectivity management, intelligent rate-plan management and customer self-service capabilities that enable manufacturers of intelligent machines and devices to offer secure and reliable mobile communications to their customers.
Applications ranging from automobile telematics to healthcare device monitoring to “smart grid” intelligent metering are supported, said LeBron. “Globally companies have already implemented our embedded connectivity solutions to achieve productivity gains and cost management and to expand customer services,” he added. Existing customers include Omron (health monitoring devices), Hitachi (wireless communications for excavators), and Volvo and Daimler (telematics). Industrial condition monitoring and remote tank monitoring are logical extensions, LeBron said.
Unlike wireless providers like AT&T and Verizon who cater to consumer customers, LeBron said Telenor is focused on commercial customers, “helping them be sure that their customers experience high-quality mobile communications. You know how many times your iPhone drops a call. You don’t want that happening with critical commercial systems. ” Network monitoring, trigger alarms, and a range of other network management services are provided.
Telenor Connexion is wholly owned by Telenor Group, the sixth largest mobile provider in the world. The company was established in 2008 when the M2M business within Telenor Sweden, which included both physical infrastructure and M2M services, was spun off. In April of this year, Swedish telecom giant Ericsson bought the infrastructure portion, allowing Telenor Connexion to focus solely on services.
Telenor Connexion (www.telenor.com/en/about-us)
