Twilio's programmable wireless platform is now generally available
Video: Cloud spending surges but customers wary of 'lock-in'
Cloud communications provider Twilio is officially rolling out its programmable wireless platform that aims to bring more developers into the Internet of Things.
Featured
With the Twilio Programmable Wireless program, the general idea is that developers can program cellular networks into their apps quickly via SIM cards and Twilio's cloud API.
Twilio said the platform lets developers see where and when SIMs are connected and monitor data consumption in real time via individual SIM reporting. Twilio's Commands API also works to reduce data costs by sending and receiving machine to machine commands using the SMS transport protocol.
Read also: What's the best cloud storage for you? | Top cloud providers 2018: How AWS, Microsoft, Google, IBM, Oracle, Alibaba stack up | We found 22 cloud services your business definitely needs to try | Everything you need to know about the cloud, explained
"Despite the hype surrounding the internet of things (IoT) over the last several years, IoT has been largely out of reach to developers because there has not been a developer-friendly connectivity provider," said Chetan Chaudhary, GM of IoT at Twilio. "Twilio Programmable Wireless makes connectivity accessible to millions of developers via Twilio's platform, empowering them to begin experimenting with IoT."
After purchasing the SIM for a one time fee, developers pay a monthly recurring SIM fee in addition to usage-based data charges. Twilio is also offering the option of a lower data rate after committing to a minimum spend per month.
The 10 scariest cloud outages (and lessons learned from them)
PREVIOUS AND RELATED COVERAGE
Twilio launches Twilio Flex, aims for programmable, multichannel cloud call center
Twilio's API-driven approach may make customizing call center approaches much easier for enterprises.
How Twilio aims to 'Hatch' successful careers in tech
Twilio engineers discuss Hatch, a 6-month apprenticeship program for people with non-traditional technical backgrounds and belonging to underrepresented groups in tech.
Twilio launches Twilio Studio to boost engagement apps
The idea behind Twilio Studio is to enable business execs and developers iterate on tools such as messaging bots, voice system workflows and notifications.