Australian telco Telstra has announced the acquisition of fleet management provider MTData with the aim of bolstering its Internet of Things (IoT) play.

The telco adds IoT is a ‘core focus’ for the company and that its IoT footprint is unmatched in Australia. While this acquisition looks to put more beef in Telstra’s connected vehicle connectivity options, the company’s overall IoT fact sheet (pdf) makes for interesting reading.

“At Telstra, we’ve been embracing the ‘Connected Things’ revolution since its inception,” the company states. “Our expertise in M2M solutions is well established, and now we’re at the forefront of IoT.”

“MTData will bring fresh expertise to our business, including the technical know-how and software expertise to help fast track our Enterprise Connected Vehicle offerings,” wrote Michelle Bendschneider, executive director of global products at Telstra, in a blog post. “It’s part of our goal to build out our IoT ecosystem for customers, [and] also supports Telstra’s focus on being a leading provider of innovative technology solutions for customers in Australia and globally.

“The acquisition will form a key pillar of our connected vehicle offering delivered in the IoT footprint on our mobile network,” Bendschneider added.

From MTData’s side, Matthew Bellizia, CEO and co-founder, said Telstra was the right partner for his company. “There are strong synergies with our technology and customer-focused cultures, and through our integration we will provide customers with access to new and existing technologies like Telstra’s IoT offerings,” he said.

Among Telstra’s recent initiatives include a 5G testing centre on the Gold Coast of Australia, according to a ZDNet article, where the telco will trial networking technologies in partnership with Ericsson. “5G will mean we can use more and different spectrum bands in order to deliver faster speeds, more capacity, and lower latency to our customers,” said Mike Wright, managing director of Telstra Networks.