AT&T pushes LTE-M Button

AT&T has announced the launch of its LTE-M Button, which allows customers to place an order online in one click, making use of the telco’s mobile network, not suspect wifi connections.

The product itself is very similar to Amazon Dash, which allows users to reorder regular products in one click, but it is more geared towards business customers. Unlike the Amazon Dash product, the LTE-M Button is reliant on AT&T’s mobile network, making it more suitable to a wider range of environments or job sites.

“We launched the AT&T LTE-M Button. It offers endless possibilities for businesses to save time, money and improve customer convenience and satisfaction through the Internet of Things,” said Shiraz Hasan, VP of AT&T’s Internet of Things Solutions business. “AWS IoT 1-Click service seamlessly connects the button to our nationwide LTE-M network. And it triggers a host of actions at the push of a button.”

The use cases for this product aren’t the most riveting you have ever come across, but that is the general promise of IoT; incremental increases without revolutionising. For example, builders could simply click a button on-site to re-order specific materials, or a litter bin could send an automatic update to indicate when it is full, or elderly individuals could hit the button to indicate to carers they are back home.

Perhaps the most useful aspect of this product is the connection to the LTE-M network (IOT-focused 4G essentially) which offers the potential to incorporate the button into a variety of hardware, in more varied environments where Wifi coverage is likely to be a challenge or non-existent. The buttons can be programmed to accomplish tasks specific to the device or environment, making this a much broader offering for AT&T.

It isn’t earth-shaking, but the incremental realities of IoT were never going to be.