29 August 2017

KPN and China Unicom have reached a partnership agreement on their Internet-of-Things-networks (IoT). National and international KPN customers will be able to easily access the Chinese IoT market, and local China Unicom customers can enter the European IoT market. This partnership boosts the IoT ambitions on both continents, by integrating IoT as part of the product and service offering.

KPN and China Unicom will utilize SIMs based on the GSMA standard for remotely provisionable SIMs, which allows IoT-devices to switch to a provider and become a local subscription. IoT customers can distribute their products and services in Europe or China using single global SIM. When their devices enter Europe, the SIM card will switch to the KPN network in the Netherlands and benefit from the KPN roaming coverage in Europe and vice versa in China. By lowering technical thresholds, both KPN and China Unicom take the next step in making IoT seamless for businesses.

According to Carolien Nijhuis, Managing Director KPN IoT, this partnership fits perfectly with the IoT ambition of KPN.

“This agreement will enable our customers to become global IoT players, since we are able to handle international requests quickly and easily. We are constantly looking for strong partnerships and have found a trusted partner in China Unicom.”

Mr LI Chong (Chairman, China Unicom Global Ltd) and Mr CHEN Xiaotian (General Manager, China Unicom IoT Business Unit), figured out

“It’s really an exciting moment that China Unicom will be able to provide a global IoT solution partnering with KPN. With this solution we are offering ‘one SIM, one portal, one experience’ to our customers. The partnership between China Unicom and KPN will enable Chinese and European enterprise customers to bridge the digital gap between global IoT deployments.”

IoT customers of KPN and China Unicom can track their entire distribution easily through the unified IoT connectivity management portal. No matter which network they are connected to. There is no need for a second portal or a second billing stream and this is key to the solution. The first customers will start using the service at the end of 2017.