Last month we reported that the number of mobile network connections used for wireless machine-to-machine communication reached 81.4 million at the end of 2010.
Today we’ve heard that Bridgewater Systems managed more than 10 million M2M devices in 2010. The company provides secure management of M2M connections on 3G and 4G networks, monitoring device usage in real time. Usage includes smart meters for utility companies, automotive information/entertainment services, in-vehicle tracking and mobile payment services.
Shira Levine, Directing Analyst in Next Gen OSS and Policy at Infonetics Research, said “M2M transactions are expected to well outpace human transactions over the next several years, which will drive investment in solutions that can support the high volume micro transactions that are associated with M2M traffic. Intelligent, real-time policy control solutions that are capable of supporting that transaction volume will become increasingly important, as will subscriber and device identity management capabilities that allow the operator to identify and track the data sent between devices. Those vendors with a proven track record in supporting these requirements today are well positioned to support service providers in capitalizing on the M2M market opportunity.”