Holy sentient blender, Batman: Telefónica to trial AT&T's Internet of Home Stuff in Europe

Telefónica will be trialling AT&T’s home security tech in Europe as the US firm tries to get its foot in the door of the Internet of Stuff.

The Spanish company is licensing the tech for limited trials on this side of the pond, after which it will decide if it’s worth signing up for a longer term. The trial will be a version of AT&T’s Digital Life, which monitors the home and automates and controls systems like lights, thermostats and doors in an integrated app.

“The collaboration between Telefónica and AT&T gives OEMs and developers another channel to extend new services to global markets. There is no better platform for the connected home than Digital Life. Our service excels in security, ease-of-use, and the platform is built to expand and be open to third party technology,” Kevin Petersen, president of Digital Life, enthused.

Telefónica chief marketing bod Michael Duncan was similarly effusive about the deal.

“We want our customers to have access to the best selection of digital products and services, and we believe that connected home services will provide consumers with greater convenience, control, and peace of mind,” he said.

AT&T released Digital Life in the US early last year and has set it up to allow other firms to license the tech for their own versions. Mobility CEO Glenn Lurie told Reuters that the firm was in talks with a number of global partners on licensing.

"We spent a lot of money building the platform... This is just another way to take those same assets and monetise them, and not just in the US, but globally," he said.

"International [licensing] we think is one of the largest revenue opportunities on top of the core business in the US," he added.

Neither company disclosed the terms of the licensing arrangement and Telefónica has yet to announce exactly which aspects of Digital Life it will be incorporating into its own trial version or where in Europe it will be running the trials. ®