Telia Estonia is using LTE-M and NB-IoT to track athletes during this weekend’s Tallinn Ironman contest.
The operator and sports accessories company Polar have developed a smart solution that is fitted onto competitors’ clothing, which tracks their progress on the course and receives key data about their performances through a mobile network.
Cellular connectivity also sends information to a website and other devices so spectators can track the progress of the athletes in real time.
Toomas Kärner, Head of IoT at Telia Estonia, said the nature of the triathlon competition, where competitors have to cycle, swim and run, is useful for measuring how LTE-M and NB-IoT works in different contexts.
He added: “Our primary goal is to make the competition more attractive to the spectators.
“However, the possibilities of the new solution are much wider. The athletes can use their sports watch to monitor and analyse their data at any given point of the competition.
“Additionally, the solution will make it possible for coaches, doctors, or other relevant parties to access athletes’ data in real time.
“This enables to make quick decisions and provide valuable advice, which may affect athletes’ performance and wellbeing.”Â
Telia Estonia is the technology partner of the country’s Ironman events. It launched a site promoting a healthy lifestyle earlier this year.
Last autumn, Telia Estonia started testing a new IoT platform that could be used by enterprises to launch connected services to their customers.
It also launched a Sigfox network last year to bolster its existing NB-IoT connectivity.
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