AT&T resorts to the connected fridge to show its IoT credentials

Like junk food and the Daily Mail sidebar-of-shame, the connected fridge is a vice many just can’t resist indulging in from time to time.

The latest company to weaken in the face of this superficially compelling consumer IoT use-case is giant US operator AT&T, which has got into bed with perky drinks company Red Bull to connect a million branded fridges worldwide and… keep them cold.

Yes, you read correctly, thanks to the power of IoT we may now finally be free of the curse of warm fridges. Only by connecting them to the network and monitoring them 24/7 via a state-of-the-art big data analytics suite can we ensure fridges perform their sole function of keeping stuff cold.

“The data will help ensure beverages are cold and ready for shoppers,” the press release proudly proclaims. “The solution will also help identify issues as they appear – or even before. Alerts from coolers mean workers may no longer need to check the status of each unit manually. Precise data sent from the coolers will give near instant access to performance, temperature stats and geo-location information.”

“Our end-to-end solutions support the near real-time monitoring and analyzing of the global beverage market,” said Thaddeus Arroyo, CEO of Business Solutions & International at AT&T. “This is another great example of collaboration and innovation to create real value for our customers. It streamlines the processes, creates visibility and improves operations, helping drive significant cost savings and return on investment.”

The connected fridge actually predates the concept of IoT, the term having been coined as long ago as 2000. Before everyone realized the real action with IoT will be embedded, industrial, B2B applications there was a desperate search for first world problems to synthesize demand for connected domestic appliances, with the massive hassle of having to open your fridge door for some reason an early front-runner. AT&T first plugged this initiative at this year’s MWC but it seems nobody noticed.