News
China leading the global M2M market I
Android leads the smartphone charge
nforma’s Cellular M2M Tracker has reported that in the second half of 2012 China Mobile increased the number of cellular M2M connections
it deployed by nearly 5.5 million. This is equivalent to the total UK cellular M2M market at the end of 2012 and makes China the largest single national market, overtaking the US. Globally, the cellular M2M market is growing steadily and is on track to reach 315 million connections by the end of 2015. Simple connections are not necessarily the best metric for M2M, says
Informa, as the value of each connection will vary dramatically depending on usage. Similarly, cellular is not the be-all and end-all of M2M. Segmenting the world’s M2M connections by bearer is pointless,
however. The M2M market is not defi ned by ‘winners’ and ‘losers’. Instead it is concerned with the application of the correct technology for each respective use case and/or business model. Many of these will make use of multiple bearers, placing different ones at different points in the data communication chain. Not everything requires or can support individually paid-for point-
to-point connectivity, so cellular is not universally applicable. But this is not to cellular’s detriment; on the contrary, it serves to underscore its importance. Cellular as a bearer occupies a unique position – in that only the most valuable assets and most business-critical connections will make use of it. Cellular will only be found where the value conferred by its presence
more than covers any costs. Therefore, it will be intrinsically associated with those connectivity projects that generate the greatest revenue (be it overall or per connected device), or with the highest-value segments of a particular project. That means that the greatest monetary returns will be found wherever cellular is implemented for M2M. Annual M2M revenues for operators are anticipated to reach
$12.8 billion by 2015, even if their role remains ‘just’ as the connectivity provider. This is a small portion of total mobile network operator revenue, but, as with all business services, the true market value lies downstream in the fi nancial gains made possible for the enterprises that deploy cellular M2M to support their processes, products and services.
In brief
Spectrum re-use: Ofcom is to allow mobile phone operators to re- use their existing 2G and 3G radio spectrum for superfast 4G mobile broadband in the future. The decision allows operators to plan and implement moves to 4G technology in these bands without having to submit future regulatory applications and delivers a long standing objective to liberalise all mobile licences so as to remove the regulatory barriers to deployment of the latest available mobile technology. It also permits an increase in the maximum permitted base station transmit power in the 900MHz frequency band for 3G and 4G technology by 3dB. M2M alliance: M2M Group, a global alliance of leading UK M2M companies, has been formed to provide complete turnkey solutions for M2M projects globally. This alliance brings together specialists from diverse M2M sectors offering the widest scope of M2M wireless infrastructure and technologies. The Group aims to take advantage of the growth in the global M2M market, which is expected to be worth $85.96 billion by 2017.
6
LTE launches: GSA, the Global mobile Suppliers Association, has confi rmed that 200 LTE networks in 76 countries were commercially launched by July 31. 146 commercial LTE networks were in service at the end of 2012. An additional 54 operators have launched an LTE service in the fi rst seven months of 2013. LTE service has been introduced to 12 new markets so far this year including Iceland, Iraq, Lebanon, New Zealand, Qatar and the US Virgin Islands. Smart accessories: Shipments of app-enabled smart wireless accessories, comprising areas as diverse as video eyewear, baby monitoring, home security & monitoring and TV transmission equipment will approach 170 million by the end of 2018, compared to over 18 million this year, according to a new report from Juniper Research. The research, Smart Wireless Accessories: CE, Fitness, Health, Payments & Enterprise 2013-2018, noted that the market will be dominated by consumer electronics (CE) and fi tness accessories, although in the longer run healthcare smart wireless accessories are expected to gain most traction.
LAND mobile August 2013
reached 230 million units in the
G
second quarter of 2013, an
annual growth rate of 47 per cent according
to the latest data from Strategy Analytics. T e runaway leader in the
smartphone market was Android with a record 80 per cent share, with Apple in second place and Microsoft in third. Scott Bicheno, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, said: “Global smartphone shipments grew 47 per cent
annually from 156.5 million units in Q2 2012 to 229.6 million in Q2 2013. Growth was driven by strong demand for Android models across all price-tiers in developed and developing markets, such as the US, China and Brazil. Android now accounts for an impressive eight in 10 of all smartphones shipped on the planet.”
Neil Mawston, executive director
at Strategy Analytics, added: “T e Android operating system captured a record 80 per cent share of all smartphones shipped worldwide in the second quarter of 2013.
lobal smartphone shipments
Competitive licensing costs, numerous hard- ware partners and a large apps store continue to
be among the main drivers of Android’s
success. Apple
iOS reached 14 per cent global smartphone share in the quarter, its lowest level
since Q2 2010. Microsoft slotted into third position with four per cent share, reaching its highest level in the global smartphone market for three years.” Linda Sui, analyst at Strategy
Analytics, commented: “Microsoft is making steady progress in the smartphone market due to strong support from Nokia. However, we believe Microsoft’s WP8 platform still needs to improve in at least two areas before it truly takes off . First, the licence fee charged to smartphone makers for WP8 must be more competitive to compete with Android in lower price-bands. And second, Microsoft must dramatically accelerate its support for advanced technologies, such as octo-core chipsets, because WP8 continues to lag behind Android in the premium smartphone category.”
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