Softbank plans to expand its IoT operations in Apac

FILE – A woman walks past a SoftBank store in the Ginza shopping district in Tokyo on Jan. 20, 2020. Japanese technology company SoftBank Group Corp. continued to rack up losses for the fiscal first quarter as technology investments soured amid a market downturn. But SoftBank’s April-June red ink, at 477.6 billion yen ($3.4 billion), was smaller than a year ago, when losses totaled 3.16 trillion yen ($22 billion), the Tokyo-based company said Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

In October 2023, SoftBank Corp. will formally expand its global Internet of Things (IoT) business into the Asia Pacific (APAC) area.

Daichi Nozaki, the Senior Vice President of SoftBank who is in charge of the global business, stated: “While we have been primarily providing IoT services in Japan and contributing to the DX of various industries there, going forward we will collaborate with strong business partners like 1NCE and leverage our expertise gained in the Japan market to fully establish ourselves in APAC.”

According to a statement, SoftBank will concentrate on marketing IoT services, particularly the “1NCE IoT Flat Rate,” an affordable worldwide IoT connection service from the German company 1NCE GmbH, to enterprise customers in this sales expansion that includes 19 countries and territories, including Japan.

In the 2025 fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2026, SoftBank wants to acquire a total of two million 1NCE IoT Flat Rate connections in APAC and other regions.

According to its “Beyond Carrier” growth plan, SoftBank is establishing new businesses outside of its core telecoms sector and supporting digital transformation (DX) across other industry sectors.

In the IoT industry, SoftBank acquired a stake in 1NCE GmbH in April 2022 and inked a contract to market the firm’s 1NCE IoT Flat Rate exclusively in 19 APAC markets.

The 1NCE IoT Flat Rate is incredibly affordable, and users can roam for free over 1NCE’s extensive worldwide network of more than 160 countries and regions. Enterprise customers like the service’s ease.

SoftBank will treble its IoT salesforce, build a dedicated online IoT shop in conjunction with 1NCE, and boost advertising and other marketing initiatives in the region by utilizing its existing locations in APAC (comprising 22 locations across nine countries and regions).

SoftBank will use its IoT platform to develop smart meter solutions, expand its worldwide IoT business, and create a comprehensive support system to address issues that different industries are facing in their individual nations and regions.

SoftBank will take steps to grow its global business, particularly in the APAC area, and push its “Beyond Japan” concept, beginning with its global IoT business. The Bernama