Wi-Ex, a provider of consumer and commercial cell phone signal boosters, announced the launch of its machine-to-machine (M2M) division to address the growing need for reliable services in the emerging M2M market.

According to industry reports, the number of cellular M2M connections will grow to more than 160 million by the end of 2011 and up to 390 million by 2014.

Wi-Ex’s M2M division will focus on providing M2M solutions for key markets including consumer facing point-of-sale devices such as kiosks, vending machines and ATMs, mobile data collection, health and medical monitoring and industrial machine-to-machine communications.

As smartphones and M2M communications devices are frequently located in basements, deep within the buildings, strong cellular signals are critical for their functions. Weak signals are more susceptible to interference and therefore must be strengthened to ensure that coverage remains strong in these locations.

According to Lloyd R. Meese, CEO of Wi-Ex, most of these M2M applications carry vital information such as healthcare and financial, making cell phone signal quality a top priority.

Wi-Ex, in collaboration with IDC (News - Alert) released a Technology Spotlight titled, “From Consumer-Centric to Business Essential: Extending Smartphone and Mobile Broadband Device Service into the Workplace.”

The Spotlight says, “Used for years to improve sub-par cell service in homes, signal-boosting technology has come of age to provide increased signal strength throughout a business facility.”

According to the Spotlight, quality of service inside a facility plays crucial role in areas like automatic meter reading and transmission of usage data improve production planning, cost savings on service employees, and damage control.

The two-way communications adopted by advanced systems will help deliver and manage sophisticated services such as smart grids to better manage power and resource consumption, according to Wi-Ex officials.