Machine-to-machine communications the future of mobile growth
According to Jupiter Research, the growth of M2M over the coming years is forecast to quadruple revenues in this market to $40.8bn by end 2011. This strong growth is attributable to businesses realising the operational benefits and efficiency savings of real-time data monitoring.
Says Nomalanga Nkosi, General Manager for Business Marketing at MTN Business; “MTN Business always has its finger on the pulse and takes customer feedback seriously so that it can model and tailor solutions that are in the best interest of our customers. It is with such statistics in mind, and given the immense opportunities that such technology presents, that MTN Business believes that M2M will be a key component in the future growth of the mobile industry and Africa going forward.”
Telemetry or M2M remote monitoring and controlling has been popularised since GSM and GPRS technology have been used to link remotely located or moving devices utilising the expansiveness of the network, particularly in rural locations.
“From remote medical diagnostics, to smart automated meters that ‘read’ themselves, to transport tracking solutions that improve route optimisation – the possibilities for industries in terms of growth, productivity and collaboration and connectedness is limitless,” adds Nkosi. “And with Africa being a catalyst for development – M2M technology is well poised to support such growth and drive further expansion of the continent.”
As M2M and telemetry solutions become more proficient, MTN Business will continue to offer a wide variety of M2M and telemetry packages to address the needs of the more specialised customer.
“Widely quoted statistics indicate that there will be 50 billion connected devices by 2020 versus just 8.5 billion people, which clearly indicates the potential M2M has to generate a tremendous amount of data traffic. How we manage that data traffic to innovate and positively impact the well-being of Africa will be a defining moment – watch this space,” concludes Nkosi.
