Yesterday, M1 became the first company in Southeast Asia to launch its nationwide Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network.

Its new network connects to millions of devices, sensors and services, as a low-powered network with wide-area coverage.

Enabling businesses to deploy IoT devices without incurring high infrastructure investment, its data can be sent back through the cloud and monitored remotely, according to M1 in a recent statement.

The solutions include: fleet and asset management, smart energy management for buildings, and environmental monitoring.

Keppel Electric claims it will provide customers with “more cost-savings than traditional meter systems”, as it pilots the NB-IoT Energy Management Meter.

M1’s chief financial officer, Lee Kok Chew, said to The Edge Market: “Our intention is to diversify beyond connectivity smart.

“Our financial profile will change as a result as we move from the high-margin, capital-intensive (mobile segment) into the digital business.”

Written by Leah Alger