T-Mobile Business is targeting workplace safety with LTE-connected products, including a contactless temperature screener, and connected hard hats through partnerships with PIMMAP and Guardhat.
The applications aim to align with shifting behaviors and workplace needs stemming from the COVID-19 environment. T-Mobile said it’s providing nationwide 4G LTE connectivity for the new products.
The PIMMAP eight-inch HD tablet takes one second to perform a scan to check for flu-like symptoms. It can be used, for example, to test the body temperature of people coming into crowds or small spaces. Anthony Kory, president at PIMMAP, in the announcement said that the idea was born out of today’s current situation.
“The M10i, combined with our proprietary algorithm, will provide actionable insights to help inform business decisions when the time is right; as well as, long-term maintenance of a safe environment,” stated Kory. “Our solution is relevant now and for all contagious diseases that exhibit flu-like symptoms.”
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As for Guardhat, T-Mobile Business is now offering service to connect the company’s industrial wearables and sensor-based hard hats. The IoT product offers geo-localization, real-time sensor data, and audio and video communication, among other features. T-Mobile pointed to applications like alerting workers when they’re within six feet of another employee. Guardhat also has environmental sensors for things like noise, gas, temperature and pressure, as well as fall detection, meant to prevent injury in situations that might be dangerous.
In addition to workers, it also tracks machinery and other assets.
Kaushik Sarkar, vice president and head of sales North America at Guardhat, in the announcement said T-Mobile’s wireless connectivity plays an important role for the product.
“We are able to help employees stay safe at work using our technology ecosystem that locates individuals or machinery with precise accuracy using sensors to provide actionable intelligence to communicate directly with personnel about safety conditions, in real-time,” stated Sarkar. “Network reliability and broadband coverage from T-Mobile is a pivotal addition to our solution and allows us to expand our services.”
Both solutions are currently available directly from T-Mobile Business, with PIMMAP available on the Sprint IoT factory. Neither are exclusive to T-Mobile, but the carrier is the first to offer connectivity for PIMMAP and is Guardhat's partner of choice, according to a T-Mobile spokesperson. The partnerships come to T-Mobile through its Sprint merger, and are consistent with legacy Sprint relationships.
Verizon and AT&T currently dominate the enterprise segment, but T-Mobile has been working to increase its presence.
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During T-Mobile’s first quarter earnings call on May 6, Mike Katz, EVP of T-Mobile for Business, said: “We think it’s [enterprise] a big, big growth opportunity for us and we’re really well positioned post-merger,” noting AT&T and Verizon controlled 90% of revenue in the enterprise space at that point.
“We’re seeing many enterprises going through big cost transformation exercises, including what they spend and how they structure their spend in this category,” Katz said, according to a transcript from SeekingAlpha.
The Sprint consumer brand is set to come under the T-Mobile umbrella on August 2, but the enterprise team already integrated as a combined selling force under the T-Mobile brand back in May.
“That was achieved this week,” CEO Mike Sievert said at the time. “We’re getting off to the races. I’m really proud of what the team’s doing and how fast they’re forming to capture this opportunity.”
T-Mobile reports second quarter earnings on August 6.