BY Michelle Howie 02 July 2021
The IoT Marketplace and Developer Kit trial were retired in July 2021.
Where we've come from
Telstra is a leading IoT provider, but when building great technology solutions, sometimes less is more. That’s why we made the decision to end the TelstraDev IoT Marketplace and Developer Kit trial, with effect from 15 July 2021. After speaking to IoT developers, we found that Telstra IoT’s biggest value is in the coverage and depth of network we can offer – so we're focusing on that.
When TelstraDev launched the IoT Marketplace in 2019, we wanted to make it as easy as possible to get up and running with Telstra’s IoT network. Since then, we’ve seen some incredible innovations. Our kits have been put in watering troughs and train tracks in central Australia, on lakes and in travelling beer kegs, in crowded smart cities and in solar powered cars. They’ve helped change the way our developers see connectivity in unexpected places.
Our six-month Developer Kit trial was so successful that we extended it for a further two years. But all good things must come to an end.
Where we're going
We’ll continue to enable our customers to harness the operational insights and improvements that they expect, and our IoT team is busy working on a number of exciting end-to-end solutions to achieve this. Just around the corner are new IoT products with API offerings for IoT SIMs, smart buildings, connected supply chains, and much more.
You might also have seen announcements for Data Hub – a modular, cloud-based platform designed to reduce the friction and cost of securely sharing data across organisations and Digital Twins. Data Hub is already bringing IoT, Edge, AI and cloud computing together to better visualise physical assets and their properties (be it a building, farm, mine, shopping centre or hospital, for example, and the respective electricity, network, security, or water assets).
What about Arduino?
The Arduino MKR NB 1500 is still available for purchase from electronics stores within Australia and is compatible with the Telstra IoT Cat-M1 and NB-IoT network. Our previous workshops and tutorials for the device – including our Get Started, Control with SMS commands, Send SMS IoT data updates, and Track environmental data guides – are still relevant.
The Arduino MKR NB 1500 remains a great tool for testing the long range communication capabilities of Telstra’s IoT network where Wi-Fi and LoRa are not practical, but also for implementing IoT nodes in production. We asked Arduino about their new pro series for Industrial IoT in our latest AusIoT Meetup – find out what’s to come in the new release.
Plus, the Arduino still gives joy to developers – like that time I triggered an Arduino MKR NB 1500 to blink on and off at a hackathon in Melbourne, using a text from my Gold Coast home office. It's the little things…
What can you do?
Stay up-to-date with the latest in IoT by following TelstraDev on Twitter and Github, reading our blogs, and joining us at the monthly AusIoT meetup for IoT enthusiasts and developers.
We are always on the lookout for guest blogs, tutorials or meetup talks too. So if you're doing something exciting with one of the dev kits then please reach out: telstradev@team.telstra.com
In the meantime, we’ve got all your IoT needs covered:
- Need SIMs for IoT connectivity? Check out the data plans for small business and request a call back here.
- Want help managing your SIMs? It’s easy with the IoT Connection Manager.
- Building your own IoT solution and want to speak to an expert? Or maybe you just want to test the waters, but don’t have a small business yet. Why not post in our IoT Community Forum and connect with other developers.
And of course, we have ready-to-go IoT solutions for small businesses and Telstra Enterprise too:
- Asset Monitoring with Telstra’s Track and Monitor
- Vehicle Tracking with Fleet Complete
- Site Monitoring with Business Protect
Questions? Get in touch using our IoT Community Forum, on Twitter, or at telstradev@team.telstra.com.
