Bharti Airtel introduces Always On IoT connectivity solution in India

Telecommunications services provider Bharti Airtel has said that it has launched an “Always On” IoT connectivity solution in India at the Indian Mobile Congress.

Airtel’s “Always On” solution consists of dual profile M2M eSim. It permits an Internet of Things (IOT) device to always stay connected to a mobile network from various mobile network operators in the eSIM.

According to Airtel, the IoT solution complies with the Automotive Research Association of India’s AIS140 standard executed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The standard lays down compulsory requirements associated with connectivity and GPS tracking capabilities for devices in all passenger-carrying buses, private fleets, and other public transport vehicles for tracking, safety, and security purposes.

Bharti Airtel introduces Always On IoT connectivity solution in India. Image credit: Pete Linforth from Pixabay.

The Indian government recently made it compulsory for vehicles with dangerous goods to have a tracker installed that are in accordance with AIS-140 standards. Additionally, there are emergency vehicles like ambulances, vehicles from the mining and construction industry working in remote areas, and other mission-critical and intelligent communication use cases that require higher availability and reliability of the network.

Ajay Chitkara — Airtel Business Director and CEO said: “We are delighted to bring Always on connectivity solution to our customers. We believe this is the next big opportunity in the IoT segment. Our strengths in the network, modern and GSMA compliant platform offering real-time access to data and flexibility to integrate the solution with custom APIs will make Airtel Business stand out in the market.”

The AIS140 solution is said to have already been checked and adopted by a few companies in the industry like Lumax ITuran, Loconav, and e-Trans. Lumax ITuran Telematics deals with telematics products and services to the Indian automotive industry. LocoNav is a fleet-tech company with more than five million vehicles on road in around 50 countries, while e-Trans is a vehicle tracking solution provider with a Pan-India network.