Telefónica, a leading telecommunications network operator, announced it has signed a strategic agreement with China Unicom (News - Alert) to promote the development of M2M and the Internet of Things in a global scope.

The project aims to making advances in machine to machine (M2M) communications through technologies such as cellular communications, identification by radiofrequency (RFID), sensors or global positioning systems (GPS).

It will provide customers with global strategic M2M solutions to jointly develop and capture the opportunities of the new digital business: Smart Transport, Energy efficiency, Connected car, Consumer Electronics, Smart Cities and Smart Industry.

China Unicom and Telefónica  will cooperate in constructing, maintaining and operating M2M platforms and developing the corresponding technical specifications. The joint collaboration will boost the capabilities of both companies to offer wining proposals to customers in different markets and sectors.

The agreement was signed through Telefónica Digital, the recently created unit of Telefónica. It builds on the wide-ranging strategic alliance entered into by the two companies and based on cooperation in areas such as purchasing, mobile services platforms, services for multinationals, wholesale services, roaming or technology.

The M2M solutions will deliver improved efficiency and economic sustainability ratios. It will also provide new technological dynamics which contribute to global economy recovery. Both companies will participate jointly in purchasing, testing and market analysis processes in order to improve conditions based on economies of scale and accelerate standardization processes.

The cooperation between the two companies will also allow for joint testing and technological certifications worldwide. For testing, the teams from China Unicom and Telefónica will work with the International Organization for Standardization and will participate in its most relevant forums.

Recently, Telefónica announced a partnership with VMware to deliver VMware Horizon Mobile, enabling Telefónica customers to gain the freedom to choose a single Android (News - Alert) device for work and personal use.