Deutsche Telekom is adding new features to its Speedport Smart router aiming to give more than one million customers a smart home experience.
The company announced that, effective immediately, the routers will also be able to control smart home devices, alongside phone, Internet and TV. The router will support the DECT ULE cordless standard, which can enable the integration of smoke detectors and thermostats among other smart devices.
A firmware update to routers already installed meant approximately 170,000 upgrades took place in one hit, with the company adding it planned to ship 1.2 million smart routers every year. “We have been a reliable partner to our customers for many years when it comes to telecommunications and entertainment. So it’s only natural to act as partners for security, convenience, and energy conservation too,” said Deutsche Telekom’s Niek Jan van Damme.
Naturally, Deutsche Telekom will hope that this is a gateway for users to move ahead with paid services – as the company notes, “undecided customers can test the benefits of Deutsche Telekom’s Magenta SmartHome Basic offering for themselves” – with an upgrade to the full range of features available at any time.
Last week, the company’s Q1 2017 financial results came in at a solid uptick. Net revenue across the group went up by 5.8%, free cash flow up 50%, albeit an expected ‘substantial’ decline in net profit. The group reconfirmed its full year forecast, of EBIDTA at €22.2bn (£x) and free cash flow of €5.5bn. CEO Tim Höttges joked that the company’s results were ‘a little bit boring maybe’ and that DT was ‘delivering on line [with] what was expected and a little bit ahead of our target internally’.
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