Telstra building Australia's first IoT network

Telstra has revealed that it will be working with Ericsson on its ‘Network of the Future’ program, working amoung other things on the deployment of Australia’s largest Internet of Things (IoT) network via deployment of Cat M1 functionality across Australia.
The telecommunications company made the announcement at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
The company said in a statement, “Telstra is the first operator to deploy a national IoT-enabled mobile network which will enable an IoT footprint among the largest in the world. The deployed Cat-M1 capability will allow Telstra to deploy a comprehensive range of IoT applications quickly and flexibly – accelerating the growth of Australia’s IoT ecosystem. .
Telstra and Ericsson have commenced localised Cat-M1 trials in Melbourne and Tasmania – device partners in the Tasmanian trial are Sierra Wireless, Altair and Bosch. As Cat-M1 device and solutions become commercially available, Telstra reports that it is well prepared to support their operation across its 4G network which covers over 98 per cent of the Australian population.
Telstra stated that Cat-M1 is ideally suited to use cases requiring mobility, voice support and moderate bitrates in the order of hundreds of kbps, like vehicle telematics, asset tracking, consumer and healthcare wearables, and smart electricity metering.
“These projects lay the foundations of the program we described in October 2016 and provide the foundation for Telstra’s Network of the Future program,” said Mike Wright, Telstra Group Managing Director, Networks.
“Our expanded optical network will support important emerging network capabilities such as IoT, 5G and enhanced media delivery.”
According to Business Insider, Wright said the new capability would have real-time uses in “logistics, utilities, medicine, transport, mining, agriculture, manufacturing and many more.”