Exciting news from another one of our partners, Inmarsat have launched a new BGAN M2M service, a new two-way IP data service aimed at M2M applications.

The new real-time service provide a low-cost solution for applications sending between 1MB and 50MB of data per month which makes it ideal for a range of SCADA/ Telemetry applications as well as smart metering, asset monitoring and environmental data logging.

We look forward to learning more as the service rolls out.

With the M2M market expanding at such a phenomenal rate, the need for global M2M standards is more pressing than ever. In response to this, seven of the world’s leading standards agencies joined forces last week to set out common global standards for M2M communications.

The seven organisations are:

• TTA  - Telecommunications Technology Association (Korea)
• TTC  - Telecommunication Technology Committee (Japan)
• ARIB – The Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (Japan)
• ATIS – The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (USA)
• TIA – The Telecommunications Industry Association (USA)
• ETSI – The European Telecommunications Standards Institute
• CCSA – The China Communications Standards Association

We came across this excellent article recently that touches on many issues that are sure to grow in importance over the coming few months.

There are yet more figures here relating to the possible size of the market and the speed of its growth and unsurprisingly, they are contradictory. IDC are apparently suggesting that M2M apps will be a $16bn market while Garner point to a figure of around $25bn by 2015. One thing is for sure though, as M2M adoption increases it’s inevitable that the complexity of the M2M market will increase too.

New applications will inevitably be developed, new partnerships formed, new business models created and new entrants will enter the market. The end result of all this frantic activity could be additional layers of complexity and cost that may hinder the market in the short term if they’re not nipped in the bud. As the article points out, complicated strategic relationships and complex contracts will benefit no-one and the message seems clear – when you are looking for an M2M partnership, look for transparency and simplicity. Be sure you know who you are dealing with an work together for a clear, defined and achievable SLA.

Long awaited news came in over the Christmas period confirming that Globalstar had successfully launched six of its new second generation satellites from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The new satellites were launched using the Soyuz-Fregat version of the Soyuz launch vehicle on Wednesday 28th December. Each of the six new vehicles was successfully injected into a low earth orbit of around 920km and the company has confirmed that in-orbit testing is underway and that all of the new satellites are operating as they should be.

It’s very welcome news for Globalstar as their planned upgrades have been beset by financial and technical troubles and unscheduled delays. The launch is the third of a planned series of four that will enable Globalstar to roll out the world’s finest quality mobile satellite and voice services. The new satellites have been designed with a 15 year life expectancy, twice as long as the spacecraft they replace.

“It is with great pleasure that we announce the successful third launch and continued deployment of our second-generation constellation,” said Tony Navarra, President of Global Operations for Globalstar, Inc. “We are now only one launch away from completing our four second-generation satellite launches and we look forward to the future services our new constellation will support. With these six new satellites now safely in orbit, we once again congratulate and applaud all of our Globalstar employees world-wide and thank launch provider Arianespace as well as our satellite contractor Thales Alenia Space for this launch success.”

The team at Wireless Innovation would like to offer our congratulations to Globalstar. They are a valued partner and we look forward to continued success.

The UK government has published a progress report on the state of the renewable energy industry in the UK and it shows clearly the economic benefits of investing in renewable sources.

According to last week’s report from the DECC (Department of Energy and Climate Change), the renewable energy industry is responsible for more than £2.5 billion of investment in the UK economy and is set to create more than 12,000 new jobs this fiscal year. There is an EU wide initiative to source 20% of all energy from renewable sources by 2020 and, though the UK is committed to a smaller percentage (15%), this recent announcement marks a major step forward in meeting these targets.

A separate report from the European Commission provided further details on the UK’s progress:

• A threefold increase in the use of transport biofuels from 1% in 2007 to 3.3% in 2010.
• Greater use of wind generation, up by 46% from 7TWh in 2008 to 10.2TWh in2010.
• A 27% increase in renewable energy use representing 3.3% of total energy consumed.