Vodafone Germany has launched new tariffs for IoT products, under the rubric of Smart Tech. The Smart Tech S, with 500 MB for trackers, costs €1.99 a month. The Smart Tech M, which is intended for smartwatches, provides 3 GB, 500 minutes for calls and 100 SMS for €5.99 a month. The Smart Tech L, which is ideal for the use of smart cameras, includes 20 GB for €9.99 per month. The minimum contract term with the tariffs is 24 months.

Tarifica’s Take

As IoT products for consumer use expand their reach in the market, it is natural that MNOs will want to develop plan offerings specifically for them. Vodafone Germany’s Smart Tech suite is a notable example that appears to meet the demand in a rational manner.

It features inexpensive packages that are closely targeted at certain consumer devices, such as tracking devices, smartwatches or camera. Subscribers who do not need a lot of data for everyday smartphone use but want to consecrate their data spend to their IoT devices would benefit most from the Smart Tech offerings. It is noteworthy that the Smart Tech M, for smartwatches, includes voice minutes and SMS, whereas the others do not; of course this is appropriate to the nature of the smartwatch, which although it is considered an IoT device does resemble a smartphone in terms of functionality. The other two plans offer data only, in keeping with the nature of a tracker and a smart camera.

The 24-month contract period, while not very onerous considering the low prices per month, might still be a stumbling block for some potential customers, in that they may be unsure about how committed they are to the long-term use of IoT devices that they have just acquired.