MOSCOW, December 10 (Sputnik) — Canada’s Telus Corp., a provider of telecommunication products and services, has launched a set of technologies to connect and control machines via the Internet in a bid to generate sales from the "Internet of things", Reuters reported Wednesday.
The brand new services are part of an emerging global trend in which technology and telecom companies integrate processors, censors and Web connectivity into objects so they could interact with each other.
Among the services Telus will offer are traffic analysis for retail stores so they can better stock their shelves, and a safety application for restaurants to check conditions such as air and food temperature and water flow.
The company plans to expand the portfolio of services available at launch over the next two years, according to Sanderson.
Telus said customers would be able to avoid large upfront capital expenditures by paying for the services on a monthly basis.
Telus has moved forcefully into health, and says it is Canada’s largest provider of electronic medical records. The shift toward the business of connecting machines with each other is a logical expansion, according to company.
Utilizing technology first used in police and emergency response dispatch systems, Telus says it can now use connected censors in the retail, healthcare, oil and gas industries.
Amid declining profits from television and Internet businesses, Canadian large telecom companies have been looking elsewhere for growth.
According to technology research group IDC Corp, Canadian spending on Internet-based services could exceed $18.4 billion a year by 2018, up from $4.9 billion in 2013.
Telus said that among its partners in developing the new services are global technology companies such as Accenture Plc, IBM, Cisco and Intel. On Tuesday, Intel unveiled a platform to help companies create Internet-connected products using its chips, security systems and software.
