Global connectivity has acquired a new dimension through the M2M technologies and in this backdrop, it comes as no surprise that over the past few years, the M2M market recorded an exponential growth. A recent report from ABI research confirmed this trend.

ABI Research's (News - Alert) "M2M Market Forecasts" tracked the M2M market on the basis of wireless WAN embedded modules and product revenue, as well as wireless WAN active nodes and service revenue and came up with some interesting facts about the M2M market and made some important predictions. In the research, shipments, connections, and revenue were segmented on the basis of region, application, and air interface standard.

ABI Research's “M2M Market Forecasts” report revealed that Cellular M2M (Machine-to-Machine) module shipments approached 28 million in 2009. The report makes a prediction that by 2015, this volume will quadruple to exceed 114 million.

But this is not the picture in its totality. The report said that while the market is showing strong growth, all segments of the market are not benefiting equally. The report particularly analyzed the position and future of EDGE as a market segment. According to the report, despite its many benefits, this technology has not shown any significant indication of acceptance in the M2M market.

“Not so long ago, it appeared likely that M2M would be making liberal use of the EDGE cellular air interface standard. However, market data suggests that EDGE has not become the technology of choice for many M2M vendors,” practice director Sam Lucero, commented.

In its report, ABI Research has said that EDGE, a 2.5G technology is in some ways a logical option for M2M applications. It operates in the same frequency bands as GSM/GPRS, but with greater spectral efficiency and lower cost. Since many M2M use cases don't require 3G speeds and bandwidth and not all carriers have 3G spectrum licenses, EDGE would seem a useful upgrade path from GSM/GPRS, ABI Research explained.

Despite these benefits, EDGE failed to create a presence for itself in the M2M market. Application developers are largely either staying with the GSM/GPRS standard where bandwidth or future-proofing are not prime considerations, or are shifting directly to WCDMA in cases where they are. And all these led ABI Research to conclude that there is no possibility of EDGE’s gaining momentum in the future.

“Module shipment data since 2003 shows no significant adoption of EDGE in the M2M market. After many years of only nominal shipments, ABI Research must now conclude that EDGE will likely never gain traction in the future,” Lucero said.

ABI has however provided an explanation for this lack of enthusiasm.

Developers have proven extremely cost-sensitive, opting to forgo even the minimal extra expense of EDGE if they can live with GSM/GPRS, the report reasoned. Also, concern about future-proofing appears to be growing. Despite EDGE's immediate benefits, it does not address fundamental anxieties about GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks being “turned off”in favor of 3G/4G at some point within the deployed life-span of M2M applications.

However, the ABI Research pointed out that EDGE has been used in the past. It has seen uptake in commercial telematics and consumer OEM telematics, as well as fixed wireless terminals and industrial PDAs, the report informed.