Welcome to this week’s edition of the M2M Week in Review, a quick run-down of the some of the top M2M technology articles published on TMCnet’s
M2M Evolution Web site. From this past week’s reports it appears there is trend toward increasing collaboration among the major carriers and technology providers to bring new commercial-grade solutions and standards to the M2M space:
On Monday, Feb. 1,
Numerex Corp., a provider of secure machine-to-machine (M2M) products and services,
reported that it had signed an agreement with
Vodafone, one of the largest wireless network operators in the world, giving Numerex access to Vodafone's (
News -
Alert) extensive data networks in the UK. The deal means Numerex can now leverage Vodafone's advanced network to help M2M technology companies, including dealers, distributors and other businesses, in bringing M2M solutions to market. More specifically Numerex and its partners will use Vodafone’s network to test and implement new M2M products and services developed using the Numerex DNA (Device, Network and Application) and Numerex FAST (
News -
Alert) platforms. The two companies claim this will greatly simplify the development and implementation of M2M applications by providing a complete solution infrastructure, including hardware integration and certification support; application development hosting and maintenance; and back-end support services such as billing, 24/7 customer care, web-based management tools and training and distribution services.
Also on Monday,
Atmel Corporation, a provider of microcontroller- and touch-based solutions,
announced that
Xirgo Technologies had selected Atmel's (
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Alert) Cortex-M3-based product family for its next-generation enhanced-battery-life asset tracking platform. Xirgo Technologies provides customized M2M devices and solutions to leading companies in automotive insurance, fleet tracking, vehicle financing, and dealer lot inventory verticals. The company is designing its next-generation M2M platform to address the long battery life requirements of portable tracking solutions, for the emerging cargo and package tracking verticals.
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On Tuesday, Feb. 2, Etisalat (
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Alert), a telecom service provider,
announced that it had entered into an agreement with Pacific Controls, a global automation company, to jointly work towards offering M2M applications and support to telco’s clients. Pacific Controls officials said that as per the agreement, Etisalat will collaborate with the company to deploy applications that rely on its Mobile Business Data Service through its 3.5G network for M2M communication.
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On Wednesday, Feb. 3, Massa Products Corporation
announced that it has selected the XBee RF modules from
Digi International so that the company can gain wireless remote access to storage tank information. Equipped with the necessary drivers for easy deployment into challenging environments, the module is integrated into Massa’s M3 battery-operated wireless tank level sensor. Now, the sensors will be able to communicate with Digi’s line of ConnectPort X gateways, including cellular, Ethernet, Wi-Fi and satellite versions, for backhauling data to a customer’s network.
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On Thursday, Feb. 4, M2M Evolution
reported that Berg Insight had released a study showing that M2M services and solutions related to manned guarding, alarm system integration and monitoring, cash and valuables handling as well as various other services are expected to grow between six and eight percent in Europe and the United States. According to the
report, key applications for wireless M2M communication in the security industry includes alarm systems and vehicle tracking systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. Alarm systems are categorized into local alarms and monitored alarms. Of the alarm systems in Europe, roughly 20 percent are monitored by an ARC and are dependent on reliable communication networks. Berg Insight has identified that there is a significant untapped potential in the residential market segment that could be met with the latest generation of monitored alarm systems with GSM/GPRS or dual signaling technology.
Also on Thursday, M2M Evolution reported that
Deutsche Telekom,
T-Mobile and
Telit Communications have
announced a global collaboration to leverage the growth potential in the machine-to-machine or M2M marketplace. The collaboration focuses on marketing and future development of M2M products and services in their target markets, according to official sources. The team will provide customers with integrated solutions allowing networking of vehicles, machines, measurement and control modules, and other objects along with comprehensive, fully customized services.
Thursday also brought the
news that
Sierra Wireless had signed a services contract with
IBM to host a new services platform dedicated to its software as a service Machine-to-Machine offering. IBM (
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Alert), as part of the agreement, will provide data center collocation facilities and services to Sierra Wireless. Sierra Wireless in 2008 deployed its first platform in France to service the European market. The company now is expanding to support its growth in North America and guarantee stable, secure and worldwide service coverage to its Machine-to-Machine customer base. In a release, company officials said Sierra Wireless selected IBM and
Rackforce to host the offering at the recently built GigaCenter in Kelowna, British Columbia, a new generation of data center which guarantees security, scalability and high availability required by Machine-to-Machine customers to manage more and more wireless-connected devices in the field.
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Finally on Friday, Feb. 5, Pulse, a company specializing in electronic component and subassembly design and manufacturing,
announced the introduction of a new set of monopole antennas that deliver Zigbee 2.4 GHz and ISM bands 868 MHz, 915 MHz and 2.4 GHz. Company sources said that these antennas are suitable alternatives to trace antennas as they occupy less space on a printed circuit board and is not affected by changes made to the board otherwise. They also provide high-quality interface for multi-purpose machine-to-machine devices and applications like data loggers, remote control, tracking, monitoring, smart grid, automated meter reading, tags, remote keyless entry, industrial, metering, security, automation, and point-of-sale or POS. The monopole family of ceramic antennas consists of the W3000, W3014, W3016, and W3043. Their small size makes them suitable for solutions where PCB size is limited for the antenna. The high temperature ceramic material used in the monopole family means they detune less due to human tissue proximity or device mechanics. They are suitable where they have to be incorporated in hand-held or body worn products. As their operating frequencies can be changed by implementing different matching circuits they can be used in multiple functions.