There are billions of devices in Europe that could potentially

be networked using fixed or wireless technologies. Generally,

the cost of connecting a device to a GSM/GPRS network must

be justified by the perceived value of the information it communicates.

The most obvious cases are remote monitoring of

mission critical equipment or tracking of valuable assets. This

type of applications however tends to be deployed in relatively

small volumes. Mass market opportunities only exist in segments

where valuable information can be generated by a large

population of devices. Examples of this are found in the utility,

transportation, security and retail industries. Europe has 345

million energy meters, 254 million motor vehicles, 8 million security

alarm systems and 6 million POS-terminals. Altogether

these segments represent a potential market of over 600 million

wireless M2M connections.

The European wireless M2M market is in a solid growth phase

with strong demand across a wide range of industries. Berg

Insight estimates that deployments of wireless M2M units, defined

as deployed and activated devices, reached 4.1 million

units in 2006. Growing at a compound average annual growth

rate of 42.9 percent, the market size is expected to reach 24.4

million units by 2011. In the medium term, the annual growth

rate will however be more moderate. Not until after 2010 will

the anticipated mass-market adoption of telematics by automotive

OEMs push growth rates above 30 percent. Other key

vertical markets are forecasted to see a more linear growth.

Security alarms and POS-terminals are expected to reach their

natural saturation point in a relatively near future, whereas the

full growth potential for energy meters will remain far from realized

even at the end of the period.

Mobile operators are positioning themselves differently in the

M2M value chain. Most of them are actively or passively limiting