Vodafone launches new IoT portfolio and 5G tariffs

Vodafone has announced a new portfolio of internet-of-things (IoT) products covering the smart surveillance industry. At the same time, it has expanded its 5G tariffs to include pay-as-you-go customers.

Operating over Vodafone’s IoT network, the Smart Vision suite of IoT smart surveillance systems are designed to enhance security and drive efficiencies for business and public sector customers. They have been developed in partnership with smart surveillance provider Digital Barriers and are claimed to be ideally suited to a range of sectors, including security, construction, manufacturing, utilities, retail and the public sector.

The first products in the range are the Vodafone Bodyworn Vision Camera and City Vision Surveillance Solution. The former is intended for use by police officers, healthcare professionals or field engineers, for example, enabling them to film incidents, live-stream at the touch of a button and retrieve footage in high definition either on-site or remotely. All footage is watermarked and stored securely.

The Bodyworn Vision Camera is said to be capable of reliable video streaming even when bandwidth is congested down to 9kbit/s. Vodafone said this compares with other cameras that require 600kbit/s to 1.5Mbit/s.

The camera is also said to have minimum delays to live-stream of an average of less than a second, compared with more than three seconds on other devices. The devices can stream on a range of networks, including 2G and 3G, not just on 4G and 5G.

The system can retrieve archived footage remotely, even when streaming live. Vodafone said the device offer highly secure streaming with reduced chance of cyber attacks and the option to rapidly disable mobile devices when needed.

The Vodafone City Vision Surveillance Solution is a connected digital encoder that fits into an organisation’s existing surveillance infrastructure. Footage is captured in high definition and specific incidents can be live-streamed where required. Customers can monitor footage across their entire estate from a single remote desktop, facilitating the security of utilities, public spaces and buildings. Again, all footage is watermarked and stored securely.

Vodafone said the technical features and capabilities of the Vodafone City Vision Surveillance Solution match those of the Bodyworn Vision Camera.

“The Smart Vision range of surveillance solutions brings to life our ambition to provide end-to-end IoT solutions that solve real pain-points for our customers,” said Anne Sheehan, director of Vodafone Business. “Utilising Vodafone’s industry-leading network and expertise in IoT, data and analytics, we can enable our customers to enhance security and drive efficiencies as part of their digital transformation journey.”

The Smart Vision suite of IoT devices are 5G-ready and to give consumers a boost in this area, Vodafone has launched 5G and unlimited data to all pay-as-you-go (PAYG) customers. It said it offers 5G at no additional cost than for 4G and claimed a 5G presence in more places across the UK and Europe than any other UK operator – 40 UK locations and 68 locations across Germany, Spain, Italy and Ireland.

PAYG customers have the choice of three 5G handsets – the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3, Huawei Mate 20X and Samsung Galaxy S10.