T-Mobile today made two notable Internet of Things (IoT) announcements.

First up, T-Mobile is teaming up with Sequans Communications S.A. to use their LTE Cat 1 tech for T-Mo’s machine-to-machine (M2M) and IoT customers. This is a significant upgrade, as T-Mobile is migrating from 2G technology for its M2M and IoT needs.

Sequans’ LTE Cat 1 chipset platform is named Calliope, and it’s capable of throughput up to 10Mbps. It also supports Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and location-based services. Sequans also touts that Calliope offers “ultra-low power consumption.”

Here’s what Georges Karam, Sequans CEO, had to say about today’s news:

“We are very happy to support T-Mobile’s IoT network strategy as an LTE Cat 1 technology provider. LTE Cat 1 enables 4G solutions to rival 2G/3G in cost while providing much greater longevity. This means T-Mobile’s customers have access to a leading wireless network that is scalable and secure with broad coverage, along with affordable, long-lived connectivity solutions for successful IoT and M2M business models.”

Meanwhile, Novatel Wireless today announced Ignite, a retail connectivity bundle that’s priced at $40 per month. That monthly rate will get customers the hardware that they need — including a modem and two LTE whip antennas — cloud management, support, and 3GB of wireless data from T-Mobile.

The goal of Ignite is to simplify the process of getting connected devices like digital signage and points of sale online. Doug Chartier, SVP of IoT, Wholesale, and National Retail for T-Mobile, said this of T-Mo’s partnership with Novatel:

“Our Un-carrier movement is all about solving customer pain points and in today’s world of connected devices, that also means helping fix what’s broken with the carrier’s IoT solutions. Ignite combines Novatel Wireless’ IoT integration and management expertise with T-Mobile’s blazing-fast LTE wireless coverage that reaches almost every American – eliminating the wild card for businesses assessing the costs of implementing an IoT solution. Pain point, solved.”

T-Mobile appears to be placing more of a focus on the Internet of Things lately, with these two announcements today and one from Twilio earlier this year. The IoT market is growing, and it will give T-Mobile another way to grow, too. T-Mobile’s even got one section of its website dedicated to IoT, and you can check it out for yourself here.

Sources: Sequans, GlobeNewswire