Panasonic and Vodafone are planning to work together on a test project to connect IoT-based home appliances with narrowband IoT (NB-IoT). This is a low-power, wide area (LPWA) technology for long-distance data transmission. NB-IoT is already considered the ideal solution in many areas for long-distance communication with low energy consumption. Vodafone is already using the new industry standard on a regular basis. Household appliances connected via NB-IoT allow users to connect their devices to cloud services.

The joint project will first test the Panasonic products themselves. The tests will determine to what extent narrowband IoT can be used for remote control and maintenance of, for example, air conditioners. Panasonic and Vodafone are planning to test a wide range of home appliances. Both the technical functionality and NB-IoT connectivity as a business model will be put to the test.