Introducing the Global Developer Plan

At Hologram, we believe cellular connectivity is the future of ubiquitous, secure IoT communication. Unfortunately, up until now, cellular connectivity for IoT has been riddled with high barriers to entry. As one of the largest software-defined cellular networks for IoT, Hologram is on a mission to remove these barriers.I'm stoked to share the latest barrier we're removing, the barrier of easy, risk-free access to our global cellular network.Today, I'd like to introduce Hologram's Developer Plan! This plan gives developers free monthly access to our global cell network and includes:

• 1MB (about 1,500 messages) of data each month, forever
• 1 Free all-in-one 2G, 3G, 4G SIM card
• Access to Hologram's full network of 300+ global carriers
• Full-featured device dashboard and data router
• Compatible with all major cellular breakouts, shields, MCUs, and USB dongles

To celebrate the launch of the Developer Plan, we're offering free shipping on a Developer SIM to the first 1,000 customers. Use promo code DEVPLANBLASTOFF at checkout.Get Your FREE Developer SIM Card (/store/developer-global-iot-sim-card)

Why We Made a Free Plan

Most of us are aware of other SaaS platforms offering free or discounted developer plans, tiers, and promos. These plans are essential for building thriving communities, open-source tools, best practices, and shared projects; ultimately pushing the industry forward.In our conversations with the developer community and customers like you, we recognized there was no free offering to developers in the cellular IoT industry. There was no risk-free program encouraging developers to explore cellular connectivity for IoT, so we set out to change that. Collaborating across our entire company, global carrier partners, and community partners, we created Hologram's Developer Plan.

The Developer Plan is for every analog, embedded and software engineer interested in IoT. Our hope is to build a community of developers ready to test the limits and push the boundaries of what's capable today, to build the tools of tomorrow.Speaking of tomorrow, this plan comes at a fascinating time for IoT. Cellular standards committees, Network Carriers, and Modem Manufacturers are about to release new technology purpose built for IoT. I believe this could be the beginning for cellular to become as prevalent as WiFi for connecting devices. The new technologies are two new additions to 4G LTE, called Cat-M1 and NB (Narrow-band). These new LTE modules are purpose built for IoT, available at substantially lower cost and wildly increased energy efficiency. Hologram is anticipating these new LTE versions will radically change the direction for connected devices.Interested in trying LTE Cat-M and NB now? Checkout the gPy and FiPy developer boards from our friends at Pycom.io (http://bit.ly/2tzQ8AA).

Get Started in Three Simple Steps

First, join the Developer Plan, and order your free SIM (/store/developer-global-iot-sim-card) from our store below – just cover shipping.Next, check out our Hackster.io project page (http://bit.ly/2v4tTag). We'd love to see the community get creative. See our past projects and consider sharing a new project.Lastly, be sure to check out the other awesome features we're releasing today, such as 4G LTE access global and high bandwidth U.S. plans. (https://hologram.io/build-better-faster-and-yes-cheaper-developer-plan-global-4g-lte-coverage-and-high-bandwidth-us-plans/)But this plan will only hit its potential if people like you share it. Consider sharing this announcement (https://ctt.ec/ic2m6) with friends and colleagues.

Ready to get started? Check out our Developer Plan (https://hologram.io/devplan/) and enjoy a free developer SIM and 1MB per month.

Ben (benstr) Strahan - Head of Developer RelationsTwitter (https://twitter.com/_benstr) , GitHub (https://github.com/benstr) , Medium (https://medium.com/@benstr)