Machine-to-machine (M2M) is a fast-growing market in the wireless sector. M2M applications can be found in a range of industries and used in a number of ways, including automotive telematics and transportation, environmental and energy control, physical surveillance and security, retail vending and even remote patient monitoring.

In Europe, a number of drivers promise M2M market expansion. M2M technology is growing in the US market as well but perhaps not as quickly as some European nations.  In April 2009, the U.K. passed new legislation to encourage energy efficiency. This legislation requires all profile-class type meters to upgrade to new "smart meters" by the year 2014. Smart metering, which affects hundreds of thousands of gas and electricity meters, will automate the reading of consumed energy and provide more frequent and accurate data to help save energy. This also meets the European Union directive to cut greenhouse gases. On the automotive side, analyst firm Berg Insight recently forecasted that 3.5 million passenger cars in Europe will soon have on-board telematics. Stolen vehicle tracking is the main application, followed by motor insurance telematics, connected navigation, automatic emergency call and driver assistance. And France is seeing the expansion of M2M as the technology is increasingly being used for toll collections.

As M2M embedded systemsbecome more complex, it is necessary to manage the module modem and application software in these devices throughout their life-cycle in order to enable new applications and features. Both OEMs and solution providers have the ability to update and maintain M2M devices by remotely performing software improvements and updates over the air. This is a tremendous benefit as some of these devices may have a 20-plus year lifespan. Throughout the years these devices will receive critical over-the-air updates quickly and cost effectively.

While the European M2M market grows, it continues to recognize the importance of firmware over-the-air (FOTA) updating for managing software and applications remotely.  Keeping these devices up to date with the latest features and improvements is vital for M2M manufacturers and service providers because it means they can ensure quality, avoid product recalls, minimize support costs and, most importantly, improve customer satisfaction. With FOTA support integrated into the M2M device, only hardware-related failures - which happen less frequently - need to be manually repaired in the field.

According to Senior Analyst Sam Lucero of ABI Research (News - Alert), FOTA is becoming much more critical in the M2M market: "For M2M, the benefits are operational efficiency and cost reduction. With M2M modules growing in complexity, FOTA enables manufacturers to perform software improvements over the air, without needing to send a technician on-site."

Four of the top five M2M module manufacturers, including Motorola's (News - Alert) Wireless Modules division and SIMCom Wireless Solutions Ltd., have adopted FOTA for use in their modules. Companies like Telit Wireless Solutions SpA., an international provider of cellular M2M technology and Sagem (News - Alert) Communications, a leader in broadband communications and convergence are implementing FOTA for their M2M product portfolios.

By the end of 2010, we can expect to see many new M2M modules will be FOTA capable. Europe may be taking the lead in many aspects of M2M technology, but there is still tremendous growth in the U.S. M2M may soon help us all in a variety of ways from using energy wisely to keeping our cars running more efficiently. Long live the machines!