@ MWC: Operators DT, AT&T plot M2M strategies

BARCELONA, Spain – Machine-to-machine communications are gaining traction among the world’s top wireless operators and vendors, which recognize the potential of the emerging market, characterized by lower revenues, but also lower churn and the potential to gain new business partners and customers as enterprises look to M2M for increased productivity, asset management and more.
German juggernaut Deutsche Telekom is among the top wireless operators trying to steer the direction of the M2M marketplace. Last year the operator opened an International Competence Center to drive innovation in M2M services. The operator is aiming to move beyond the connectivity piece of the M2M sector and instead be a trusted solutions provider. Initially, Deutsche Telekom is focusing on high-volume “speed boat” projects across the automotive, smart meter and mobile health vertical markets – areas where the operator can have a deeper relationship with their partners, said Jurgen Hase, VP of the M2M Competence Center, Products & Innovation, at DT. The operator counts 150 employees dedicated to the M2M effort.
DT is planning to move beyond its own coverage areas as well. The company is exploring a wide-ranging partnership with France Telecom Orange that could include M2M standards and quality of service for cross-border services.
DT‘s competence center focuses on M2M products and services in nine market sectors: transport and logistics; vehicle telematics; smart metering and smart grid; consumer electronics; security; retail and commerce; industrial automation monitoring and control; healthcare; and public sector and infrastructure.
The German operator has formed a technology partnership with automotive supplier Continental to develop a complete end-to-end infrastructure for Internet connectivity and online services in vehicles, demonstrating the innovation and collaboration between Deutsche Telekom and its partners.
Cross-border services are imperative to M2M operations in the automotive industry, said Dr. Ranier Deutschmann, senior VP of mobile products at Deutsche Telekom, in an interview with RCR Wireless News during Mobile World Congress last month. Cars travel across cellular networks so roaming agreements are important if an end user has signed up for M2M services. DT can see M2M used for auto diagnostics, entertainment and public safety. If a driver is in an accident, the airbag deployment could alert public safety, which would use the GPS feature to tell emergency responders.
Beyond the technology, Deutschmann noted that these businesses need stable business partners like a telecoms operator. “It’s not necessarily about what is the latest technology so much as it is about stability and reliability,” since some products – like vehicles and industrial machines – have long lifespans.
While the M2M opportunities seem limitless, challenges remain. The marketplace needs to be educated about how M2M technology can help businesses, he said. A copy machine that alerts the service company when the machine needs more toner is an easy example of how M2M technology could help the copy machine service company and the business that uses the copy machine because the alert that the machine needs toner would enable both companies to operate more efficiently, Deutschmann noted. But the service company needs to implement the M2M technology into its business processes.
Closer to home, AT&T Mobility broadened its M2M services portfolio, signing up four more companies as solutions partners. The second-largest U.S. operator counts 1,100 non-stocked devices approved on its network, and of those, more than 450 are M2M devices.
At Mobile World Congress, AT&T introduced new application integration, development, and management solutions, as well as enhanced global roaming capabilities to help companies across various industries curb IT costs, complexity and speed time to market.
“As part of our focus on enterprise mobility, we’re helping to accelerate and transform M2M adoption for businesses by making every step of the process easier and faster so that our customers can seize the benefits of M2M connectivity – enhanced productivity, lower costs, and streamlined operations – and integrate them simply into existing IT systems,” said Chris Hill, VP, Advanced Enterprise Mobility Solutions, AT&T Business Solutions. “Our Advanced Enterprise Mobility Solutions group collaborates with our Emerging Devices team to enable a wireless connection for virtually any edge device.”
More companies are adopting M2M solutions as they are taking “end points that were never connected to IT” like pallets, trucks and containers, and bring them into their business systems, said Eric Krause, director of product management, Global Business Services. Whether it’s via e-mail, SMS or event-based triggers, businesses are using the technology to better manage their assets and their workforces. Krause sees a lot of potential integration between M2M in the home and the automotive sectors.
AT&T is working with Axeda, ILS Technology, SensorLogic and Sierra Wireless to further expand its M2M offerings. Axeda provides a cloud-based M2M application platform, so customers can get real-time intelligence on their assets. For example, Axeda’s solution is used by a company that has a vending machine that makes ice cream. The company can find out inventory, as well as make sure the machine’s cooling mechanisms are functioning properly, said Axeda CEO Dale Calder. Axeda also works with a company called All Traffic Solutions, which makes radar speed displays and message signs. Municipalities use the functionality of the signs to monitor traffic patterns, including areas where drivers may be most likely to speed, Calder said. “You can extend the functionality of the cloud into every product.”
AT&T’s partnership with ILS Technology also helps enterprises deploy remote services faster. The company offers monitoring and predictive maintenance apps, targeting critical infrastructure in building automation, data center, energy management and industrial markets.
AT&T teamed with SensorLogic for fleet management and Sierra Wireless for an end-to-end solution for building, deploying and operating M2M apps.