Narrowband IoT company Sigfox has teamed up with Irish-American financial software company Stripe to offer IoT subscriptions for purchase online. Stripe is providing the online payment infrastructure. Customers can choose between ‘Discovery’ or ‘Enterprise’ airtime subscriptions. The first is for fewer 10,000 device subscriptions, or fewer, on a year-long deal; the second is for customers connecting more than 10,000 devices on multi-year deals.
The Discovery pricing is based on the number of devices and messages, whether or not Sigfox’s Atlas Native network-based location service is selected. Customers have 12 months to activate subscriptions. The Enterprise bundle, for larger implementations, brings a longer multi-year activation period, plus an account manager and dedicated technical assistance.
Sigfox said the move was in response to demand from clients, both in start-ups, looking to test out its IoT network, and in large companies, seeking to mobilise large fleets of IoT devices. Sigfox works without a SIM card wherever there is an available network; it claims (partial) coverage in 75 countries around the world. The Stripe setup, for online airtime purchases, is available in 28 countries, as it stands.
Nicolas Poussier, product manager at Sigfox, said: “Stripe has been instrumental in democratising access to online payments and payouts for millions of companies across the planet… This resonated with Sigfox’s mission to make IoT available to all. With outstanding uptime, a flawless user experience, strong European foundations, and new countries launched every quarter, Stripe’s ethos and ambitions were obviously aligned with ours.”
