T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel partnerships target M2M space

T-Mobile and Sierra Wireless have agreed to partner to help develop the nascent machine-to-machine communications space, the latest in a series of tie-ups between wireless operators and technology companies. Indeed, in the United States, Sprint Nextel Corp. is the latest carrier to announce an M2M joint venture.
The announcement between Deutsche Telekom’s wireless arm and Canadian-based Sierra will focus on providing M2M solutions for the automotive, fleet, navigation, utility and security markets, and initially will focus on the European market, beginning with DT’s home market of Germany. The two companies said their framework agreement recognizes that “alliances between key players will prove necessary in order to satisfy customer needs. Both companies also see the need for simplified and predefined M2M solution offerings in order to accelerate customer adoption,” according to the press release announcing the venture.
Basically, even though M2M solutions are touted throughout the industry as a major area of growth, most solutions are customized at this point, depending on the industry, the operator and the solution needed for the vertical market. More standardized solutions that can be used for a variety of applications would accelerate deployment in the space. Sierra and T-Mobile’s partnership aims to build what they are calling “predefined” solutions for the market. Along with developing the product set, the companies will cooperate on sales and marketing efforts and the possibility of including Sierra Wireless modules preloaded with T-Mobile subscriptions. “Our joint efforts are intended to bring optimized, out-of-the-box solutions to our M2M customers, and we trust that the results of our co-operation will be appreciated by the M2M market,” said Rainer Deutschmann, senior vice president of mobile products at Deutsche Telekom.
In the States, Sprint Nextel just inked a deal with M2M DataSmart, a new company based in San Diego that is focusing on M2M products using CDMA technology. AT&T Mobility recently signed a deal with Jasper Wireless for its M2M initiative, and Verizon Wireless and Qualcomm Inc. formed a partnership called nPhase.