Expanding the Role of the Mobile Network Operator in M2M

Machine-to-machine communications is on the rise. Most mobile network operators (MNOs) are turning to M2M for growth in revenues buoyed by the significant growth projections for number of connected devices. With voice revenue reaching saturation and significant margin pressure on consumer data services, MNOs are attracted by the high margins involved in M2M connections. Estimates for number of M2M devices in the future are in the billions of devices. An oft quoted figure is from Ericsson: 50 Billion connections by 2020 [1], which is roughly ten times the number of cellular connections today. MNOs are investing a significant amount of resources in infrastructure platforms, partnerships, and marketing and sales to grow their M2M business.