M2M


The eCall opportunity T


The EU continues to trial its eCall initiative before it is due to be fully functional in 2015. Tim Clayton looks at some of the opportunities the scheme will present


he European eCall initiative to bring faster help to motorists after accidents is looking increasingly like that rare beast: a


successful Europe wide cooperation. Based on ear- ly trials, the European Commission estimated that the initiative could reduce emergency response times by 50 per cent in rural areas and 40 per cent in urban areas, saving countless lives as well as up to €14 billion in the European Union (EU) an- nually. Beyond this, it also represents a fantastic opportunity, creating completely new markets for telematics devices and services, and adding rocket fuel to the already fast-expanding M2M space.


The eCall program T e European Commission introduced eCall, a groundbreaking initiative intended to bring rapid and automatic assistance to motorists involved in an incident anywhere in the EU, several years ago. To meet the challenge of developing an interop- erable pan-European eCall program, ERTICO, the network of intelligent transport systems and services stakeholders in Europe, launched a pilot known as HeERO. T e scheme has developed interoperable eCall projects in participating EU regions and it will synchronise systems across country and network borders. T e HeERO pi- lot, which began in 2011 and is continuing until 2013, has already been successfully pre-deployed in several regions using 112 as the pan-European Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) emergen- cy call number. T is is probably the world’s biggest deployment


of M2M technology, and though the participants in the trial and rollout will be major blue chip busi- nesses, it will bring wider opportunities. T e after- market for retrofi tting these devices will be huge


About the author


Tim Clayton is divisional marketing manager at Anglia M2M


– M2M module provider Cinterion estimates 100 million vehicles. In addition, the availability of a standard telematics platform in a signifi cant pro- portion of European vehicles could drive a thriving market in third party applications. T e European market alone is big enough to achieve this, but glo- bally, the adoption of a standard eCall platform in Europe is likely to infl uence the adoption of a very similar platform in the US and Asia. Drivers can be off ered other telematics services


such as route advisories and traffi c information, and the location of anything from the nearest service station to the nearest pizza parlour can be conveyed. With drivers’ permission, vehi- cle location data can be used to monitor traffi c conditions even more accurately than at present. Whilst these services are already available on pro- prietary satnavs, a universal telematics platform in every European vehicle will take this market to a completely diff erent level. Finally, with the automotive supply chain


absorbing millions of M2M modules, volumes on the components they contain will rise signifi cantly, with a corresponding reduction in manufacturing cost. T is will benefi t every single application that relies on these technologies.


Conclusion Wireless M2M-powered public safety and eCall solutions provide peace of mind for consumers while better enabling emergency service person- nel to respond to life’s dangerous moments – but the benefi ts it will bring are much wider. Anyone designing in-vehicle telematics should be looking at the opportunities it presents, and even beyond this major market, the sheer scale of eCall will cre- ate new opportunities.


18


Module support C


interion was fi rst out with an eCall compliant M2M wireless platform. Its


AH3 module and development kit were used in the successful upgrade of the PSAP system in the fi rst full trial in Romania. Simultaneous to Romania’s PSAP


infrastructure upgrade, Civitronic also collaborated with Cinterion to design and launch the “ubiq eCall IVS Solution”, an in- vehicle system that provides the minimum set of data compliant to the EU norm as well as advanced fl eet management services. The system integrates Cinterion’s automotive-grade AH3 that provides cellular voice, data and Internet connectivity, GPS capabilities and eCall functionality from one component. The AH3 delivers reliable always-on


communications across global 2G and 3G cellular networks for automatic eCall and emergency roadside assistance as well as onboard vehicle computing, Internet access, fl eet management and integrated hands free calling. The module’s SIM Access Profi le enables easy integration of additional wireless devices, connection with smartphones and software applications, while analogue audio processing and advanced voice support provide superior hands-free capabilities. Its three antennas allow always-on communications with simultaneous voice, data and continuous GPS tracking.


LAND mobile August 2013


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