The Outlook for M2M looks Promising

The future of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication continues to look very bright, especially if you believe Sprint and T-Mobile. In recent days both companies have publicly stated that they expect M2M to take off in the near future.

At Sprint, the Emerging Solutions Group (ESG) is in charge of the company’s M2M activities. Wayne Ward, who is the vice president of the ESG, recently stated that the “M2M space is white hot right now”. To capitalize on this opportunity Ward noted that Sprint plans to simplify the connected device experience for both end users (consumers), as well as for businesses that are offering solutions to consumers. Despite this claim, Ward did not offer a detailed overview on Sprint’s plans to meet these goals at this point in time.

T-Mobile is going even further with its M2M predictions. National M2M director John Horn thinks that M2M will become the dominant form of connection on T-Mobile’s Network. Horn also believes that M2M connections could outnumber humans by ratio of 4 – 1. Horn’s prediction is actually not all that bold given the fact that many analyst firms have already stated that up to 50 billion machines could be connected by 2020.

M2M Connections for Numerex continue to grow

Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Numerex reported 2009-year end results earlier today and the news from the M2M connectivity provider was positive overall.   M2M subscriptions increased 34% on a year over year basis.  Total connections numbered 937,000 at the end of 2009, this compares to 701,000 at the end of 2008.  Looking ahead, the company seems to be on track to add its 1-millionith M2M connection by the end Q1 2010.

3 UK and AQL announce M2M Partnership

Another cellular telecommunications operator has decided to go after the potentially lucrative machine-to-machine communication market. Last week 3 UK announced that it had signed a deal with AQL. The deal allows AQL to resell access to 3 UK’s network for connected devices and M2M solutions. 3 UK hopes to benefit from the fast growing demand for connected device solutions for surveillance cameras, lone worker safety devices, and vehicle diagnostics. For its part, AQL hopes to bring on 40 data partners in the first 12 months of the deal.

T-Mobile Touts Explosive M2M Growth

With each passing day, more and more evidence shows up to support the fact that Machine-to-Machine Communication has firmly established a presence in the telecommunications and technology markets.  Today’s news is courtesy of Joe Horn – the national director of T-Mobile USA’s M2M division.  According to Horn, 2009 marked the 4th year in a row in which T-Mobile USA experienced 100% growth in its M2M division.  Horn also notes that more strong growth for M2M is on the way inside T-Mobile, as the company will now be bringing M2M solutions to its T-Mobile International network.   The news from Horn is latest sign of strength from the M2M and intelligent device markets.

2010 – A Busy Year for M2M Alliances and Partnerships

Machine-to-machine communication and intelligent device management have both been on a torrid run since the start of the new year. Evidence of this fact continues to show up in the area of company alliances and partnerships. New partnerships between M2M industry participants have seemingly been announced on a daily basis in recent weeks. Last week, Connected Device World detailed major alliances and partnerships announced by T-Mobile, Huawei, Telit, Vodafone, AT&T, and Numerex. With several new agreements now in play, it is worth a look at the latest activity.

Earlier today Vodafone, Verizon Wireless, and nPhase announced a strategic alliance that aims to accelerate global M2M deployments and simplify remote management of devices. With the new agreement it will be easier for customers to activate, manage, monitor, and pay for devices that are deployed across European and U.S. cellular networks. Customers will also be able to centrally manage a large number of connected devices even if the devices are spread out across multiple countries. By partnering, the 3 companies hope to reduce the time, complexity, and cost associated with multi-country M2M projects.

Another company that has been extremely active in alliance building in 2010 is Numerex. On February 9th, the company entered into an agreement with Rogers Wireless of Canada. The agreement will expand Numerex’s M2M business in Canada by allowing the company to offer high data rate services to its customers. Some M2M applications are beginning to require higher bandwidth and the new agreement will allow Numerex to better address the needs of its Canadian customers. Additionally, the company also announced deals with Tekelec and Blueslice Networks over the past week.

With all of this activity occurring M2M firms can hardly afford to stand “on the sidelines”. Sierra Wireless is aware of this point and recognizes the need to continue to innovate in the M2M marketplace. As such, the company announced a deal with Bouygues Telecom that bundles a Sierra Wireless M2M modem with prepaid Bouygues airtime. The agreement introduces a “pay-as-you-go” system to the M2M marketplace. Some machines only need to be “checked-on” occasionally for diagnostic, upgrade, or management purposes. As such, there is no need for 24/7 device connectivity and a monthly airtime fee. Instead, money can be saved by only paying for the amount airtime required by the device. Thus, the end-user saves by not over-paying for “unlimited” connectivity each month.

Alliances and partnerships are an important part of M2M market development. As the market continues to progress, it will be interesting to see which partnerships prove to be the most beneficial. Stay tuned to Connected Device World for more coverage.

Growth for M2M in 2010?

If the recent quarterly results from Sierra Wireless are any gauge, then the machine-to-machine communication market could see strong growth this year. Although most research firms saw flat growth for the overall M2M market in 2009, Sierra’s Q4 2009 results show that market conditions are improving as the overall economy rebounds.

For the 4th quarter, Sierra’s M2M products and services performed particularly well. The company’s AirPrime embedded modules and AirLink M2M Gateways saw sequential revenue increases of 52% and 11% respectively. In a further sign of strength it should also be noted that Sierra’s M2M product lines accounted for 55% of the company’s total sales in Q4 09 – a company milestone.

While it is not possible to directly infer increased M2M growth in 2010 from Sierra’s results the positive figures should not go unnoticed. Sierra Wireless is a bellwether company when it comes to world of machine-to-machine communication and connected/intelligent devices. Certainly, it will be worth watching Sierra’s quarterly results throughout 2010.

M2M Heavyweights Flex their Muscle

Although the concept of machine to machine communication (M2M) has been around for quite some time, marketplace recognition of M2M solutions had lagged until relatively recently. The winds of change officially began blowing this past fall when Verizon, AT&T, Telefonica, T-Mobile and others all announced new programs aimed at making it easier to connect intelligent devices to the carriers’ cellular networks. As we begin 2010, the market continues to flash signs that the world is entering an era of connectivity and intelligent device networking.

For starters, lets consider the recent announcement of a collaborative deal between T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, and Telit. The deal seeks to jointly expand the positions of all 3 companies in the M2M market and focuses on product/solution development, simplification, standardization, and sales. Although not officially announced it is highly likely that the agreement will promote the usage of Telit Cellular M2M Modules for devices to be connected to the networks of T-Mobile and Deutsche Telecom.

Not to be outdone, Vodafone reached an agreement with Numerex in early February. The agreement will allow Numerex to use Vodafone’s network in the United Kingdom to test and implement M2M solutions. Both partners are seeking to magnify their presence in the UK M2M market and also simplify development and deployment of M2M solutions in the country.

In addition to the deal with Telit discussed earlier, T-Mobile also signed an agreement with Huawei (a recent entrant into the M2M module market) at the end of January. The two parties are looking to obtain pilot customers and develop M2M solutions as part of the deal.

Last but not least, AT&T announced an extension of a deal with Mobile Virtual Network Operator Kore Telematics. The agreement allows Kore to manage access to AT&T’s control center. The control center is designed to help speed time to market for M2M devices and solutions.

In the end, the agreements seem to indicate that collaboration will be needed in order to succeed in the complex world of connected devices and M2M. Additionally, it looks as if the “Heavyweight” companies of the M2M marketplace are beginning to jockey for position in their attempts to grab a piece of the multi-billion dollar M2M pie.

Welcome to Connected Device World

Machine to Machine Communication (M2M), Ubiquitous Computing, The Internet of Things, the Pervasive Internet, Pervasive Computing, Intelligent Device Networking, and the Extended Internet – in truth the list goes on and on.  However, all of these terms actually refer to one specific global megatrend.  The world is entering a state of always on connectivity and what you are seeing today is the early formation of a global “digital nervous system”.  This system will bring about a truly connected world where people interact with machines & devices, and machines interact with other machines.

The scale of the opportunity is truly enormous.  In July of 2009 the Wireless World Research Forum estimated that there would be 7 trillion internet connected devices serving 7 billion people by 2017.   The revolution is already underway.  Perhaps you are familiar concepts such as the smart grid, home automation, ehealth, and intelligent transportation.   Each of these market segments represents an area where connectivity is bringing everyday devices online to enhance the quality of life for people around the world.

The markets discussed above are just a few examples of today’s connected world.   Going forward we will focus on the impact that connected devices are having in several major industries including Energy, Transportation, Security/Military, Healthcare, Retail, Buildings, Consumer, and more.  Thanks for reading and please visit again soon.