Communications and Technology Industry Research

ABI Research’s latest report indicates that there will be continued strong growth in the M2M (machine-to-machine) communications markets and predicts about 95 million cellular M2M modules will ship in 2013.

 

The report, “Cellular M2M Markets,” has forecasted shipments for the three main market segments - telematics, telemetry, and wireless local loop- and says that about 34 million devices are expected to be for telematics and 39 million for telemetry.

 

The major market growth will be seen in the telemetry segment until about 2011, according to Senior Analyst Sam Lucero, who explained this is because the segment encompasses a variety of applications including smart metering, POS terminals, and remote monitoring and control applications.

 

Lucero expects a surge in telematics applications after 2011 when the market will be driven more quickly by mandates such as Europe’s eCall initiative, which requires cellular connections in every vehicle. The market will also be driven by a much stronger competitive reaction to OnStar in North America where virtually all the major automakers will make efforts to launch OEM telematics programs in a bid to get a share of the market. He also sees strong growth for commercial telematics as fleet managers use telematics to cut down fuel costs and increase overall operational efficiency.

 

ABI’s report says that the average selling prices will reduce across all air interface standards through about 2010, and will level out after that. There is no immediate indication that the M2M (machine-to-machine) communications markets will be affected by the current economic crises but few companies believe they are going be impacted.

 

“A few companies have told ABI Research (News - Alert) that the economic uncertainty will have a direct impact; we’re in the process of surveying selected industry stakeholders to evaluate whether our forecasts will need to be refined,” said Lucero.

 

The players are currently challenged to easily design cost-effective applications. Although few companies such as Wavecom, Sensor Logic and Digi International are involved in the development, ABI is not clear yet whether application developers will settle on one or another preferred type of ecosystem partner.

 

ABI Research “Cellular M2M Markets” study forms part of three ABI Research Services: M2M, Consumer Mobility, and Mobile Devices. The report elaborates on the market forces, includes analyses of cellular M2M module vendor strategic responses, provides 2006/2007 vendor market share data, and predicts cellular M2M module growth from 2008 through 2013.