Perhaps the next technological wave that will revolutionize how we live is the communication between devices, known as machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. Humanity has imagined such a world many times in the domain of science fiction, including on TV shows such as “Star Trek” and “The Jetsons.” Now we see this concept coming to fruition as technology leaders make strides toward enabling intelligence in and between devices.
According to ABI research, there will be 50 billion new M2M devices on the market in the next 10 years. In fact, AT&T – once synonymous with just phones – has recently certified more than 1,000 new connected devices to work on its network, mostly within the M2M market. Additionally, most worldwide mobile network operators (MNOs) have created specialized business units to address this market, since wireless radio technology is one of the key communication mediums between devices to enable M2M applications.