Market analyst firm Infonetics Research said worldwide revenue for embedded mobile modems for M2M applications is set to more than triple in 2010 over 2009, and is likely to continue to grow strongly through at least 2014, at a 66 percent compound annual growth rate.

The number of connections for embedded mobile M2M applications hit 87 million in 2009, and it may jump to 428 million by 2014, driven by wider availability of services, new M2M applications, and “Connected Society” regulatory and policy initiatives, said the research firm.

 Infonetics (News - Alert) said it is certain that embedded mobile M2M market is poised for rapid acceleration, driven by new mobile devices, applications, services and providers, combined with the availability of higher speed networks.

 Government policy and funding is also playing a crucial role, said the research firm in its report titled “embedded Mobile M2M modem market outlook.”

“Demand is rising for mobile M2M applications such as smart energy monitoring and intelligent traffic, backed by government policy and funding, which is helping to create a virtuous growth cycle for the embedded mobile market," said Richard Webb, directing analyst for mobile devices at Infonetics.

Over half of all embedded mobile connections are GSM based, with strong growth expected in W-CDMA and later, LTE (News - Alert) connections, driven by high-bandwidth M2M applications and the need for future-proofing long-life device cycles.

The utilities/smartGrid vertical accounts for the largest share of overall revenue for embedded mobile M2M modems, and they made up about a quarter of total revenue in 2009.

The report includes embedded mobile M2M modem vendor analysis, a market overview, growth drivers, challenges, and an overview of the industry partnerships and providers of M2M services.