M2M Now magazine explores the evolving opportunities and challenges facing CSPs across this sector. And in our exclusive interviews passes on some lessons learned by those who have taken the first steps in next gen M2M services. www.m2mnow.biz

1. M2M Now: ISSN 2046-5882
JANUARY 2013 PROFIT FROM A WORLD OF CONNECTED DEVICES
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 1
Ready for Mobile
TALKING World Congress yet?
It’s coming! See Page 39
HEADS M
ILS readies for the challenge
as CEO Yentz predicts a
battle for M2M in 2013
SMART HOMES
& UTILITIES ISSUE
Reports from Amsterdam
& London: What do users
want in a smart home?
FLEET & ASSET
TRACKING
Follow your
assets, no
matter where
or when
M
4 AGRICULTURE
CASE STUDIES
M
M2M tackles hungry BOLD MOVE BY ONE
bats, thirsty cattle, SERVICE PROVIDER
grapes and WireRats™ Deutsche Telekom and
Maingate promote
CapEx-free smart meters
ALSO INSIDE!
Most M2M forecasts are wrong: So say researchers! • Taiwan wakes
up to M2M • Stand by, Oracle’s coming • Nothing Smart about my
Metering! • The Contract Hot List • Company, Market, People &
Product News • Latest News & Videos at www.m2mnow.biz

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3. CONTENTS
Check Out Our Website!
www.m2mnow.biz
CONTENTS 3
COMMENT – by the Editor, Jeremy Cowan 4
The $$ cost of M2M hype and false hopes
10 TALKING
HEADS
PRODUCT NEWS
Newtec wins satellite award; Digi launches compact module
MARKET NEWS
5
6
Global satellite SCADA and M2M forecast; and Contract Hot List
PEOPLE NEWS 7
Senior appointments at Netgem, Concirrus and INSIDE Secure
COMPANY NEWS 8
Landis&Gyr creates 200 new jobs; Etherios acquired by Digi International
TALKING HEADS 10
16 SMART
HOMES
ILS is up for the challenge as CEO, Fred Yentz predicts a battle for
M2M in 2013
SMART METERS
Smart choices in Amsterdam, but we find ‘intelligent data’ too
13
SMART HOMES 16
What do customers want in a smart home? Jeremy Cowan reports
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: SMART METERS 20
Deutsche Telekom and Maingate unveil bold CapEx-free meter roll out plan
24 OPINION AGRICULTURE CASE STUDIES
Barry Nay lifts the lid on four case studies showing M2M’s agricultural impact
OPINION
A new strategy for efficient, low cost M2M
22
24
ASSET TRACKING 26
Bob Emmerson learns how to follow your assets, no matter where or when
EXPERT OPINION 28
Telenor Connexion expands its services to support customer product lifecycles
VIDEOS FOR YOU! 30
34
ASIA FOCUS
See how businesses are benefiting from M2M Now’s video marketing skills
EVENT DIARY
Our listing of key events worldwide; Plus MWC 2013 Barcelona Preview
32
ASIA FOCUS 34
Steve Rogerson finds Taiwan is hurrying to catch up in M2M expertise
RESEARCH 37
Oracle flexes its research muscles and prepares to launch in M2M
BACK PAGE 38
Jeremy Cowan admits it: There’s nothing smart about his metering!
Cover Sponsor: ILS Technology reports © WeKnow Media Ltd 2013
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CONTENTS M2M Now January 2013 3

4. COMMENT
The $$ cost of M2M
hype and false hopes
How often have you looked at M2M research figures and muttered, “Really?” I don’t have empiric
evidence (yet) but many people I talk to are as unimpressed as I am by forecasts of millions of
cellular M2M connections, billions of connected devices and trillion dollar revenues. Eventually such
figures become meaningless. Even worse, they actively damage future investments in machine-to-
machine communications, investments that still offer some of the brightest financial hopes for
network operators worldwide. It’s simple. If you hype a service too far it will surely fail to meet its
Jeremy Cowan stellar forecasts. It’s surely not in any of our interests for this market to acquire a reputation for
over-promising and under-delivering.
Amid falling profits from voice traffic and zero margins on mobile
data, operators cast around for Hope. Then the CFO meets “He uses statistics as a drunken man
someone at a conference who’s making steady money by uses a lamp-post, for support rather
connecting Things, not People. So he has a long, hard look at the
research. Except that some analysts seem to see this sector as one than illumination.”
in which to bash out a quick report to boost cashflow then Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
ignore again.
components, migration paths from 2G to 3G to 4G LTE, end-user
I talked along these lines recently with one eminent researcher in
behaviour, socio-economic factors, and so on into consideration
this space, and a member of M2M Now’s Editorial Board, Robin
when building forecasts.”
Duke-Woolley, CEO of Beecham Research. He pointed out the
kind of errors that are being made. “Growth rate projections are
Now, I’m not privy to the various methodologies of rival analysts,
often far too high for what is essentially a solutions business, not a
and I’m not so green that I can’t spot a sales pitch, but we will be
consumer products business. New projects and technology changes
taking a closer look at the claims of M2M researchers in an attempt
are also often assumed to happen much too rapidly. Those 10-year
to de-bunk some of the hype, to point out the successes and
forecasts then typically multiply all the assumptions in shorter range
failures of some forecasts, and establish what separates accurate
forecasts, claiming preposterous accuracy with big headline
claims from self-serving exaggeration. Meanwhile, my old man had
numbers. The forecast errors for these are potentially huge.
a quote for every occasion and one from Scottish novelist, Andrew
Lang (1844-1912) seems appropriate. “He uses statistics as a
He’s not alone. James Brehm, senior strategist at global consulting
drunken man uses a lamp-post, for support rather than
and market analytics firm, Compass Intelligence wrote a sensible
illumination.” Perhaps we should study future forecasts with a
report this month headlined ‘Why most M2M forecasts are wrong’.
more sober eye.
(Read it at www.M2MNow.biz, Search: ‘Compass’). He said, “While
there are many companies providing annual data on the M2M
market, most analyst firms make assumptions that are not
grounded in reality. The majority … do not take availability of
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4 M2M Now January 2013 COMMENT

5. PRODUCT NEWS
Newtec modem wins satellite markets and research vision award
The Newtec MDM6000 Satellite Modem, a applications and any speeds. This particular develop the update on the DVB-S2 standard.
new generation satellite platform, has won modem handles data rates up to 380Mbps Newtec’s contribution to the standard has
the Satellite Markets and Research Most in each direction. resulted in new satellite transmission
Innovative Product Award. Through the technologies that are already implemented
combination of new high speed and The high-speed MDM6000 modem is in full in the MDM6000 Satellite Modem. Those
efficiency technologies, the modem compliance with the DVB-S2 standard and technologies include smaller roll-offs,
achieved the world speed record earlier this already supports the upcoming S2 advanced filtering, more and better
year. Slava Frayter, the company's VP Extensions. Newtec has teamed up with MODCODs, FEC upgrades and wideband
Americas, accepted the award on behalf of other DVB-members in order to define and support (72Mbaud).
Newtec at the Satellite Markets and
Research Vision Awards reception during
SATCON2012 in the Javits Convention
Center, New York City.
The Newtec MDM6000 Satellite Modem
was launched in September and completes
Newtec’s modem portfolio to cover all IP
Digi launches compact wireless module
for developing connected portable devices
Digi International has launched a compact access to an applications development using the iDigi® Device Cloud.”
wireless system-on-module for developing platform and device management
connected devices based on Freescale functionality. The ConnectCard for i.MX28 is small
technology. The ConnectCard™ for i.MX28 enough for the most compact designs. The
module’s small form factor and integrated “The ConnectCard i.MX28 provides the module is said to offer easy design
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth networking options are performance and flexibility of a system-on- integration, low-power operation and
designed for developing portable medical module, but in an ultra-small form factor,” unique interface flexibility. It features an
devices and other products in energy, said Larry Kraft, senior vice president of integrated 32-bit ARM core running at up
transportation, industrial or building global sales and marketing, Digi to 454 MHz, on-chip power management,
automation. Through the iDigi® Device International. “Customers can develop and Bluetooth 4.0, and dual Ethernet and
Cloud™, developers will have immediate maintain their connected devices easily 802.11 a/b/g/n networking options.
NEWS IN BRIEF I NEWS IN BRIEF I NEWS IN BRIEF I NEWS IN BRIEF I NEWS IN BRIEF I NEWS IN BRIEF I NEWS IN BRIEF
Modular, open integration between energy consumers, energy applications through a single
platform launched for generators and energy storage in the infrastructure that uses an open IP-
building automation home can now be realised in defined based architecture.
expansion steps, making it a new option
Diehl Controls, a Z-Wave Alliance member
for energy providers, telcos and OEMs. Ambient’s CTO, Ram Rao, said, “It
and a European provider of heating and
has always been our philosophy to
photovoltaic controls, has developed an
open integration platform that forms a
Platform provider adds offer a network platform with
two new smart grid nodes choice in the communications
complete modular home control solution
Ambient Corporation of Massachusetts, technologies since no single
for networked homes. The Smart Eco
provider of a secure, flexible and scalable technology will be suitable for all
System employs the Z-Wave wireless
smart grid communications and grid scenarios. With the launch of
standard to control appliances, radiators,
applications platform, has launched two the Ambient MiniNode and
lighting and other residential and
new smart grid nodes: the Ambient MicroNode, we … also (offer)
commercial building systems via
MicroNode™ and Ambient MiniNode™. greater choice to match price
smartphone, tablet or PC, locally or
These are designed to complement the performance in the hardware
remotely.
Ambient Smart Grid Node™, which now to facilitate those
has more powerful grid analytics communications and The Ambient
Using the Smart ECO system, end users
capabilities. applications.” MicroNode™
can monitor and control the energy
consumption of all appliances at a glance
and in forthcoming applications, integrate These additions to the family are said to
electrical and thermal energy storage offer utilities reliable and efficient
systems. The connection and interaction management of multiple smart grid
Full reports on these and other News stories can be found at www.m2mnow.biz
M2M Now January 2013 5

6. MARKET NEWS
Global satellite SCADA and M2M
market ‘to reach $2.7bn in 2021’
Global Information, Inc (GII) of Farmington, traditional verticals is expected to grow at green energy for the provision of high
Connecticut says that the satellite EO single-digit levels, emerging verticals are bandwidth CCTV for security requirements.
industry is progressively moving from expected to grow “impressively” over the
growth fed by governmental and military next decade. The SCADA/M2M via Satellite, 3rd Edition
orders to a more balanced mix of end users. report provides a comprehensive analysis of
This lays the groundwork for a decade of The global satellite SCADA/M2M market is addressable markets and demand trends for
growth in both data and value-added expected to reach US$2.7 billion in 2021, today’s SCADA/M2M market, covering eight
services (VAS) segments. growing more than two-fold from today’s regions and seven distinct vertical markets.
$1.2 billion annual revenue base. The The report forecasts in-service units and
Meanwhile, a healthy mix of satellite-based market is currently dominated by L-band service revenues for each frequency
system control and data acquisition and is likely to remain the preferred platform that includes L-band, Ku-band, C-
(SCADA) and machine-to-machine (M2M) platform over the long term. However, Ku- band and HTS for the period 2011-2021.
opportunities is projected over the long band has gained inroads in the
term, albeit via a shifting mix of vertical transportation market and is used more For more information on all our reports go
market demand. While the market for frequently in new verticals, specifically in to: www.m2mnow.biz
THE CONTRACT HOT LIST
M2M Now January 2013
It's free to be included in The Contract Hot List (below), which shows the companies announcing recent contract wins or product
deployments. If your contract is not listed here just email the details to us now marked "Hot List" <j.cowan@m2mnow.biz>
Vendor/Partners Client, Country Product/Service (Duration & Value) Awarded
Aeris Communications Acura, USA Selected as Communications Provider for upcoming luxury sedan 11.2012
Bosch Healthcare Doro, Provider of TeleCare systems in Europe chooses mobile partner 11.2012
Ericsson Megafon, Russia To provide cloud-based M2M services for enterprises 11.2012
Ericsson TeliaSonera, Sweden To provide cloud-based M2M services for enterprises 11.2012
Ericsson 3, UK To provide cloud-based M2M services for enterprises 11.2012
FTS Unnamed M2M enabler, Germany Leap™ Billing to enhance content & M2M billing and customer experience 10.2012
Gemalto Standard Bank, South Africa Supplying multifunction EMV contactless payment card for fares & goods 11.2012
Gemalto Vodafone Group, International To provide and operate global TSM platform and deploy NFC services 11.2012
Globecomm Systems Inc. NATO Comms & Information Agency US$4.5m to upgrade GPS-based Force Tracking System 11.2012
Landis+Gyr Helen Electricity Network, Finland Smart metering provider enables HEN to complete deployment project 11.2012
Locamation SSE, UK Starts smart grid automation pilot project with UK power distributor 10.2012
MoreMagic Solutions DStv, Access Ban & Ecobank Expand Splash mobile money ecosystem in Sierra Leone 11.2012
Numerex Alcohol Monitoring Systems, USA Expand ‘breakthrough’ wireless alcohol monitoring for criminal justice 11.2012
OKI Data Americas Lantronix, USA Smart M2M connectivity solutions provider to resell xPrintServer™ 11.2012
Orga Systems Meralco, Philippines Bring first smart grid solution to the Philippines in pilot for 40,000 customers 11.2012
Redline Communications Unnamed oil & gas company, USA Broadband wireless M2M contract for communications between wells & rigs 10.2012
Smart421 Rail Settlement Plan Ltd, UK 5-year contract to design, build & run a live sales management system 11.2012
SK C&C USA Vodafone Group, International M-commerce business, CorFire™, to provide mobile wallet capabilities 11.2012
Telefónica Generali Seguros, Spain Agree the development of a new M2M car insurance scheme 11.2012
Key:
EMV = Europay, Mastercard & Visa M2M = Machine-to-machine
IoT = Internet of Things TSM = Trusted Service Management
Numerex
‘breakthrough’
6 M2M Now January 2013

7. PEOPLE NEWS
Senior appointments made in
M2M by Netgem and Concirrus
Netgem announced Romain Waller‘s During his career, he has managed and Telematics with experience of
appointment as the head of Netgem’s several business units with full P&L complex and international sales within
newly created Connected Home product responsibility within the Sagem Group the telecommunications and M2M
division. He will report to Christophe and more recently the Technicolor group. business areas. Falkman has been
Aulnette, chief executive officer. In his previous roles, his core missions enlisted to spearhead the growth of the
Concirrus Ltd simultaneously have included business development with Concirrus business.
announced the appointment of Oscar global media and telecommunications
Falkman as general manager of its newly operators to cover set-top boxes, modems, Falkman says, "This new role at
formed office in Sweden. gateways, as well as IPTV service platforms Concirrus will enable me to consolidate
and other connected technologies. my expertise of creating and developing
A graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and companies, and build a world class team
Ecole des Mines de Paris, Waller joins Prior to joining Concirrus, Falkman was to deliver sales and additional revenue
Netgem after 14 years of experience part of the Telenor Connexion business streams with businesses including vehicle
within the telecommunications industry. team and has a background rich in M2M telematic vendors.”
Continua Health Alliance adds two to its board of directors
Continua Health establishing industry standards for advancing our vision to
Alliance has appointed interoperability. create an ecosystem of
two new members to plug-and-play products
its Board of Directors to The new directors are Kaoru Hiraoka, and services for health
serve a one-year term. general manager of Advanced self-management and
Continua Health Technology and Standardisation, Mobile health care delivery,”
Alliance is the Phones Unit, Fujitsu Ltd, and Thierry said Clint McClellan,
international industry Zylberberg, executive vice president of Continua Board
Kaoru Hiraoka organisation dedicated the France Telecom-Orange Group, president and Thierry
to advancing personal and director of Orange Healthcare. chairman, and senior Zylberberg
connected health by director of Strategic
promoting end-to-end, “These new directors will … provide our Marketing, at Qualcomm Life, Inc., a
plug-and-play board and management team with new wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm
connectivity of personal insight and perspectives as we work to Technologies, Inc.
health devices and facilitate more efficient connectivity,
Open Mobile Alliance elects a new technical work leader
The Open Mobile Alliance has Work Programme at the OMA. has been working in the Service
elected Francesco Vadalà of Layer and Messaging Innovation
Telecom Italia as chairman of its An experienced telecom engineer, department of Telecom Italia
Technical Plenary committee. In Francesco Vadalà has been where he analyses emerging
addition, Kepeng Li of Huawei working for cellular network technologies and co-ordinates
has been elected Technical Plenary operators for more than 10 years standards activities in areas such as
vice-chairman and will join Vadalà in different areas of expertise messaging, service exposure,
along with Technical Plenary vice- involving innovation, technical architectures for mobile
Francesco
chairman Roland Hechwartner of strategy and research and applications and service delivery
Vadalà T-Mobile in leading the Technical development (R&D). Since 2007 he and social networks.
INSIDE Secure appoints Dimitrios Karayiannis to senior R&D role
INSIDE Secure, a provider of payment business lines. Prior to joining INSIDE Secure, he held
semiconductors for secure transactions various positions at Texas Instruments
and digital identity, has appointed Karayiannis brings to the role more than in the USA and France. As a member of
Dimitrios Karayiannis to the position of 16 years of hardware and software the senior leadership team at Texas
vice president of research and experience in the semiconductor Instruments France, he managed the
development. He now leads the R&D industry, including over 10 years’ R&D organisation for the wireless
organisation and is responsible for the management experience in product business unit. A Greek citizen, Mr.
development of all products for INSIDE development of application and Karayiannis holds a PhD in computer
Secure’s Near Field Communication BaseBand processors. science from Southern Illinois University.
(NFC), digital security and secure
M2M Now January 2013 7

8. COMPANY NEWS
Growing smart meter demand creates
up to 200 new jobs at Landis+Gyr
Landis+Gyr, whose ultrasonic gas meter early as next year. As part of this steady
production recently reached three million at growth, the company which operates two
its site in Stockport, UK, plans to expand its sites in Greater Manchester, has grown
current employee base of 300 by up to 200 from serving niche markets to become a
new jobs across the skill spectrum. The European leader in smart gas metering.
posts will be in manufacturing excellence,
quality, design and manufacturing Oliver Jud, head of Landis+Gyr’s Gas
engineering, product and project Metering Business, said: “We have come a
management and supply chain. long way since we started production of To mark the three millionth meter milestone,
these meters in 1993. This achievement Landis+Gyr’s Oliver Jud, presented a golden
The Stockport facility has been in operation demonstrates that our smart gas meter to the customer, Jim Macdonald, chief
since 2005 and the business envisages technology is a core company strength.” executive of Calvin Asset Management.
reaching the four million meter mark as
Digi International acquires the cloud
computing services provider Etherios
Digi International of Minnesota has management, greater machine uptime and Etherios helps transform organisations
purchased Chicago-based Etherios, Inc., the ability to offer proactive customer through the implementation of cloud
creator of The Social Machine®, a new service. computing technologies. It provides
cloud-based method for integrating operational strategy, technical design and
machines into core business processes via “Etherios is a world-class cloud computing architecture, implementation and change
the Salesforce Service Cloud. Combining services provider with hundreds of management services to its global
the iDigi® Device Cloud™ with The Social successful domestic and global customer base.
Machine® will enable almost any machine, deployments,” said Joe Dunsmore, CEO,
anywhere in the world, to connect rapidly Digi International. “We believe Digi’s deep Mike Dannenfeldt, CEO, Etherios said, “We
and easily to the Service Cloud. By enabling device expertise combined with Etherios’ believe when we combine Digi's device
real-time machine interactions with ability to integrate devices directly into an knowledge and iDigi Device Cloud with The
organisations’ workflows, it is said that organisation’s core business processes via Social Machine® it will serve as a positive,
customers will be able to benefit the industry’s leading cloud-based CRM disruptive force in the industry.”
dramatically through improved asset system can be an M2M game changer.”
NEWS IN BRIEF I NEWS IN BRIEF I NEWS IN BRIEF I NEWS IN BRIEF I NEWS IN BRIEF I NEWS IN BRIEF I NEWS IN BRIEF
Vodafone hits H1 2012 losses Firms partner to deliver gap in the growing machine-to-
but there is ‘strong growth’ global satellite-based M2M platform machine (M2M) market for satellite
in M2M revenues, says CEO messaging. The new AST iX
UK-based Applied Satellite Technology platform enables organisations to
Ltd. (AST) and Active Web Solutions monitor and control remote
Vodafone has announced a loss of £1.88
Ltd. (AWS) have joined forces to deliver equipment anywhere on the
billion (€2,35 billion) for the six months
a global satellite-based M2M platform, planet and at the touch of a
ended 30 September, 2012, as total
AST iX. AST and AWS both have button, without human
revenues fell 7.4% on H1, 2011. But
extensive experience within the satellite interaction. AST iX is said by
Vittorio Colao, group chief executive of
industry and saw a specific and unique the companies to be at the
the Newbury, UK-based mobile network
forefront of this modern
operator reported that M2M revenues
market sector, offering new
continued to show ‘strong’ growth.
capabilities to established
and developing areas,
There was continued strong growth in
emerging countries and
Vodafone Global Enterprise, M2M and
remote sites, where there
Vodafone One Net but these areas were
may be limited or
offset by “macro-economic challenges
unreliable
in country-level enterprise units”.
communication
infrastructure
available.
8 M2M Now January 2013

9. LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY
CONTROL SYSTEMS
www.maingatesolutions.com
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N info@maingatesolutions.com phone +46 455 36 37 00

10. TALKING HEADS
ILS is up for the challenge
as Yentz predicts 2013
will see a battle for M2M
There’s a lot that’s exciting about the year ahead in M2M. In fact Fred Yentz of ILS
Technology tells Jeremy Cowan that he believes M2M solution providers will be
tested in 2013. He also expects a battle between big systems integrators and network
operators for control of M2M services and top line revenues.
“I think a battle M2M Now: What is the most pressing challenge Our clients enjoy a simple point and click integration
or opportunity you see today that is impeding into SAP, Oracle, IBM applications, databases, and
is brewing the progress of M2M customer adoption? enterprise service busses. Imagine: seamless
connections from your remote machine under a
between the big Fred Yentz: The core challenge in M2M today is the predictive maintenance contract into your existing
same one it has always been; that of connecting to analytic and trouble ticket applications, without the
systems remote assets, globally providing enough intelligence need for custom programming.
at the device side of the network to evaluate and
integrators and determine events, trends, and alerts as needed, then As a larger M2M community, I would like to see us all
transferring the information through the network talking about enterprise integration the way our
the network (wired, wireless, and satellite) to a point where value enterprise customers expect it to be done: Robust
operators.” can be created. tools that allow point-and-click for native application
integration and value delivery, without the need to
Fred Yentz, ILS It sounds so simple, but there is a history of complexity extract your data from a third-party service repository.
surrounding M2M solutions which is doing none of us
Technology any favours. For years M2M solutions have been built M2M Now: As M2M users and their applications
in silos using a complex collection of technology and roam ever further, what impact is globalisation
skills. I often refer to these early initiatives as science having on services? What challenges does this
projects. They have been executed with varying bring for M2M service providers, network
degrees of success. operators and device or module vendors, and
how well are they coping?
Unfortunately, while these early stories provide
interested parties with a set of lessons learned, they Fred Yentz: Many of our customers are faced with
also give the wrong impression regarding what is possible the task of making their solutions as global as
today – setting expectations of difficulty, extended possible. It’s a big task even for companies who have
time to market and even the need for ‘good-enough’ been working in the telecommunications domain for
work-arounds that, frankly, are no longer necessary. years. Making a smart phone which is compatible and
certified on a carrier network with some participants
Making M2M easy is the key to our collective industry roaming is a very different problem than making a
success and that’s exactly what we have achieved with connected capital asset that will be distributed and
our deviceWISE M2M Application Platform. It used around the world.
incorporates a portfolio of intellectual property plus 30
years of lessons learned into a tool that allows our In telecom speak, a smart phone is a device or a
customers to quickly configure the assets they want to modem is a device. But in M2M, cars, generators,
monitor, and connect them seamlessly and securely elevators and vending machines would be considered
into their existing back office IT applications so they the devices. The complexity that smart phone vendors
can achieve real value quickly and simply and start must achieve in order to ship product which is certified
building their RoI. on global networks is formidable – and they’re the
experts.
Speaking of which, there has recently been a lot of
attention given to enterprise integration. How does For M2M, device makers will be looking to their
that really work? If you peel back the marketing hype module vendors and network operators for help.
from many platform solutions that talk about Those players will need to establish and share some
enterprise integration, you’ll find that the customer is level of standards or best practices that allow the new
faced with methods which are as archaic as CSV file device makers to succeed.
exchanges.
The need to support multiple technologies and
At ILS Technology, we look at the world completely multiple carriers around the globe also highlights the
differently – in a way that has been validated by our importance of integrating the network provisioning
enterprise and Fortune 500 customers countless times. and communications management into application
10 M2M Now January 2013

11. platforms in order to allow the user community a higher degree of automatic
provisioning and management of the network using the powerful applications
and workflow that they have invested in over time.
For example, if an OEM processes a customer order using their SAP ERP
system for a connected product (asset or thing) you would suspect
that the order needs to be provisioned with an M2M connection for
enhanced services. It seems reasonable to expect that the SAP
system would drive the customer information, asset information and
service levels into the M2M Application Platform layer and
subsequently allow the provisioning and service levels to flow
natively to the Connected Device Provisioning (CDP) layer to setup
the connection and rate plan.
Our experience indicates that integration will always happen as
close to the application as possible, for the simple reason that the
value is the highest at the application layer.
I think a battle is brewing between the big systems integrators
and the network operators. Both want to have as much control
and top line revenue as possible for ongoing M2M solution
delivery. At ILS Technology we think we need both and, of course,
we support both. A quality platform solution has to play nice with
both ends of the network – the device side and the enterprise
application side – as well as provide seamless integration to the
network provisioning tools.
2013 is looking like the year that M2M solution
providers will be put to the test. At ILS Technology we
are excited about the challenge.
M2M Now: Global services mean global
solutions. Will we soon see widespread
implementation of agreed standards? Or
are solution providers just paying lip-
service to the joint efforts of
standardisation bodies?
Fred Yentz: The goal for any
standardisation effort is to reduce
complexity and cost through
commonality. At this point, I think
the entire industry can agree on
the topics, need and desired
benefit. Today and going
forward, any
disagreements and
confusion will centre
around the details of
how to achieve our
shared objectives.
From my
perspective, it
helps to consider
the M2M space
using the
phrase ‘Internet
of Things’ (IoT).
The internet and Fred Yentz is the
telecom world
approaches president and
standards in a unique CEO of ILS
manner. (Telecom specs Technology
for telecom OEMs).
M2M Now January 2013 11

12. TALKING HEADS
“It is critical that The key to success for M2M standardisation lies with M2M Now: How are enterprises who want to be
developing a standards approach that is easy to the consumers of these connected solutions
the M2M understand and implement for the vast proliferation of dealing with the globalisation challenges?
‘things’ producers.
service-layer Fred Yentz: From an enterprise customer perspective,
Traditionally, the telecom marketplace has had a large we are seeing the need to integrate connected assets
specification be supplier base of handsets, tablets, and modems. As which may be local or international into the systems
vast as that ecosystem may seem, it pales in that enterprises use to manage and optimise their
simple enough to comparison to the makers of things across every business. That being said, we see the integration layer
vertical. For this reason, and this reason alone, it is of most importance residing high in the stack or at the
not overwhelm critical that the M2M service-layer specification be application layer.
the ‘thing simple enough to not overwhelm the ‘thing makers’.
Providing a specification and protocol that can be The ILS Technology deviceWISE solution is often used
makers’.” easily implemented to give broad adoption and in this exact way: providing a mechanism to connect
commonality is paramount. to assets and sending critical right-time information
Fred Yentz, ILS through a network and ultimately terminating the
That’s why ILS Technology participated in the original connection at the IT application and data centre side
Technology request by the Telecommunications Industry of the enterprise. Integrating the value at the
Association (TIA) to begin standards work in the application side of the stack allows our platform to
space. We promoted the concept of creating a terminate different networks and different network
specification that would be easy to implement by non- types into our service, which simplifies the integration
telecom OEMs, as well as a specification that would implementation for the enterprise customer.
not be tied to any particular transport technology
(wired, 2G, 3G, 4G, satellite, etc.). M2M Now: What excites you about the future of
M2M and ILS Technology’s role in that future?
To that end, TIA has balloted and will publish a
specification which is vertical- and modality-agnostic, Fred Yentz: The more M2M solutions I encounter, the
while being simple enough for everyone to implement. more excited I become about the possibilities of new
The spec, called TR-50 M2M Smart Device connected applications that will change our world. It is
Communications, was created with input from a great to watch business leaders begin to understand
variety of OEMs as well as the OPC Foundation, and that M2M-enabled solutions can support new revenue
is targeted to be less than 30 pages. When published, streams, save costs and bring a new level of
it will be submitted to the oneM2M partnership compliance to their business.
programme by TIA for review.
At ILS Technology we are seeing the dramatic upward
M2M Now For those who may not be aware, the OPC Foundation trend in qualified customers that know they must have
Jargon Buster is the world's leading community of over 500 more than a story around M2M, and are ready to
companies for interoperability solutions based on OPC commission real projects now.
(Open Platform Connectivity) communication
ERP = Enterprise
specifications for secure, reliable and platform- We look forward to working with enterprise customers in
Resource Planning
independent information exchange. OPC technology is an effort to help them address why they should consider
IoT = Internet of Things widely used for information integration in industrial M2M and IoT projects to improve their business results.
automation and related domains. This powerful In addition to enterprise customer engagements, we
M(V)NO = Mobile combination brings the telecom standard writers will continue to build partnerships around critical
(Virtual) Network together with the OEM community which will be routes to market and customer relationships.
Operator charged with implementation of the standard. Supporting our system integrator, MNO and MVNO
OEM = Original partners with M2M services and tools which are built
Equipment Manufacturer At the end of the day, the success of standards will be to solve tomorrow’s business objectives. We want to
measured by industry adoption. In the case of M2M, put their fear of the unknown and tales of failed M2M
RoI = Return on the adopters will the thousands of thing makers that and IoT science projects of the past to rest, and teach
Investment are building the connected planet. them to leverage robust tools built for the IT industry.
12 M2M Now January 2013

13. EVENT REVIEW
AMSTERDAM, OCTOBER 2012:
Smart choices, but
intelligent data too
Hosting three events under one roof isn’t always a recipe for success, but it worked
well in Amsterdam for the less-than-snappily-titled expo, Metering Billing/CRM
Europe, Smart Homes, Transmission & Distribution/Smart Grids Europe. Relax! Next
year it’s going to be called European Utility Week. It’ll make the name badges smaller
too, says Jeremy Cowan.
“A few years ago,” one experienced visitor to the
show tells me, “this event was a box and hardware
story. Now it’s moving into all sorts of areas like
authentication, security, even Big Data. It’s not an
M2M (machine-to-machine) industry event, it’s about
verticalised industries, but there are still too many
proprietary boxes.”
It’s well documented that the market is in need of
open platforms and agreed M2M standards, and this is
echoed by Thomas Weisshaupt of Business
Development Energy Markets at Cinterion, the M2M
segment of Gemalto. “We’re trusted advisers (to
utilities). They want to know what open platforms are
out there, and how they will benefit – they’re not
asking how to deploy smart meters themselves. So,
we’re trying to develop open standards through
standards committees.
“Utilities are now switching from the Mechanical Age dedicated service, or repeatable latency necessary for
to the Internet Age. We need to raise awareness of smart grids, smart meters, smart cities, or even smart Consumers who
homes. Since Vodafone estimated that only 70% of
the Internet of Energy, and to avoid the mistakes of
UK homes have cellular connectivity at their meter
have the ability
Internet 1.0 – you can’t run smart grids with cookies,”
says Weisshaupt. location (Carbon Connections Report, July 2009), steps to monitor their
have been taken to improve indoor mobile coverage.
energy use in
The new Cinterion EHS5 module was launched before
the show by Avnet Embedded, which serves the Take your pick of tech real-time can
industrial market with displays, embedded computing One infrastructure company, Sensus, that offers smart
meters, communication systems, software and services
reduce their
hardware, software, networking and wireless
products. The EHS5 is for M2M application providers for the electric, gas, and water utilities, says that electricity
looking for product longevity and cost efficiency. The operators have not fully addressed the wider problems
module uses the latest HSPA+ baseband developed by of endpoint battery life, latency, or contention with consumption by
Intel for low current consumption. With the same other public network traffic. According to Sensus, that as much as 20%.
ultra-compact profile as the GPRS BGS2 module, this figure of 70% doesn’t even take into account the
new element of the Cinterion Evolution platform difficulty of reaching meters from other utilities, such Electric Power
offers high speed data communication with a as water, which are typically situated under pathways Research
downlink speed capable of 7.2 Mbps and uplink of up and need battery powered communications lasting
to 5.76 Mbps. more than 10 years without recharge or change out. Institute,
Andy Slater, director at Sensus, told M2M Now,
reported by
Proponents of other technologies, however, point out
that cellular links can’t always provide the connectivity, “Ireland is now committed to water and gas Tendril
M2M Now January 2013 13

14. EVENT REVIEW
"Our experience with Thames Water in Reading was
we have a first time connect rate to meters in
underground pits of 99% with an ongoing read
interval success rate of 98%. All of these trial results
are before any network optimisation work which
would further improve performance," he adds.
Sensus’ FlexNet LRR system communicates via primary
use licensed spectrum. It is a dedicated and secure
two-way communications highway that enables wide-
area coverage reaching all points in a utility’s service area
without the need for additional or hybrid networks.
The FlexNet LRR system supports true end-to-end IPv6
communication across all platforms – electric, gas,
water and lighting control. IPv6 compatibility
transforms the system from a single-application
advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) network to an
interoperable smart grid infrastructure, enabling
industry standard addressing to be used between all
endpoints and applications..
(metering) under one authority. There will be
advantages if they look for a WAN solution that can The FlexNet LRR system supports true end-to-end IPv6
do both at the same time. PLC (power line communication across all platforms – electric, gas,
communication) doesn’t do either. Cellular doesn’t water and lighting control. IPv6 compatibility
work here because of the requirement for a 15-year transforms the system from a single-application
battery life and because the water meter is generally advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) network to an
at the property boundary so out of HAN range. Mesh interoperable smart grid infrastructure, enabling
claims to do both (water and gas) but there are cost industry standard addressing to be used between all
and technical challenges in getting a low power signal endpoints and applications.
to underground points without a high density of street
mounted equipment.” The next generation of the FlexNet system supports
true end-to-end IPv6 communication across all
“Long-range radio (LRR) has become a popular choice platforms – electric, gas, water and lighting control.
for smart metering and grid applications where IPv6 compatibility transforms the system from a single-
connection is required to devices outside the home or application advanced metering infrastructure (AMI)
those not able to connect to a power supply like, gas network to an interoperable smart grid infrastructure
meters,” Slater reports. He maintains that the enabling industry standard addressing to be used
discussion has to evolve from a focus by some on the between all endpoints and applications.
communications systems available today, to how we
can make use intelligently of the data they provide. “Recent projects and smart grid deployments around
the globe teach us that energy suppliers have to use a
For a smart grid, the communications network must balanced mix of communication technologies to
have low and defined latency to ensure traffic can achieve customer loyalty and satisfaction.” So says
flow securely and with ease. It is also important to Atreya Chaganty, VP Business Strategy & Development
Kenneth have a dedicated, purpose-built utility-grade network at Orga Systems. “Essential for a combined use of
Toenning, PLC, GSM, and radio networks is a fault-tolerant
to give guaranteed network performance (service level
Vestforsyning system with adequate redundancy, ensuring proper
agreements), all of which is difficult for mobile
networks to provide. fail-over support in case one type of communication
channel goes down. Thus, strong communications
“We specified the Long Range Radio can support electricity, gas and network monitoring is critical.”
outcome. We water utilities, particularly in urban areas, he says,
adding, “LRR is possibly unique in that it can do all As most business cases continue to rely on pre-paid
didn’t care if they three efficiently, without workarounds. The proof of models, he believes that centralised back-end systems
this is where we’ve deployed multi-utility networks in have to be able to support credit overflow to prevent
bicycled around the USA and Canada. auto shut-off of electricity or gas meters. “Real-time
getting the information on consumed energy is key for the
At Scottish Power the SmartReach trials are proving provider, but it also helps consumers to better
readings.” LRR’s suitability in hard to reach geographies and understand their consumption and allows them to
Kenneth locations. (Sensus, Arqiva, BT and Detica are partners take the right decision, for example, on energy
in the UK’s SmartReach smart metering consortium.) sources. Those opportunities, embedded in a complex
Toenning , “It works in high density Glasgow apartments,” says environment and driven by smart apps, change the
Vestforsyning Slater, “ in rural Lochwinnoch and to water meters in game for energy suppliers significantly.
pits in Reading’. The pilot scheme in Scotland began in “They successfully bridge the gap towards a
July 2012 in both areas and we have now installed connected home with in-home displays and web-
nearly 5,000 meters and we are achieving a 99% first based monitoring. Finally,” says Chaganty, “they
time connection rate and 99% read interval success in enable the launch of a real win-win in regards to
the coverage areas. responsible usage of resources, monetisation of
14 M2M Now January 2013

15. expensive smart grid infrastructure, customer-centric done. It’s going to create a swamp of data, much of it
business models and the freedom of choice in a useless. And it’ll just raise their communications costs.
connected world.”
“Are we having that conversation? Yes. The response?
Data intelligence Some say they know best. Others like British Gas are
The theme of intelligent use of data came up again in ‘first movers’ and know that they can offer a better
M2M Now’s discussions with Adrian Tuck, CEO of customer experience and win more business as a result.”
Colorado’s Tendril, a provider of cloud platforms for
‘the Energy Internet’. Utilities, as Young points out, are at the bottom of the
‘trust league’. Smart metering is a good way to
Tendril has partnered with Essent NV, the largest engage with the customer base. “Today,” he says,
energy company in the Netherlands serving more than “you have no relationship with your energy provider
two million households, to collaborate on a novel but smart meters can give you that.”
smart energy application crowdsourcing project.
Energy management
The project uses the Tendril Connect™ cloud platform to One utility that has taken a proactive approach to
link some of Essent’s smart meter-enabled residential smart metering is Denmark’s multi-utility,
customers with web and mobile application developers Vestforsyning. The company’s Kenneth Toenning told
from around the world. These developers use Tendril M2M Now, “We have 27,000 customers, but only
Connect APIs (application program interfaces) to 14,000 are having the smart meter installed. The
access rich interval usage data from energy meters and temptation is to focus on technology, but it’s data that
create innovative consumer apps for the participants. gives us value.
Tuck has three observations deriving from the various “So the EU tender was based on data,” he continues.
start-ups he has successfully grown: first, you need open “How many meters, where, how old, how they would
standards; second, the software needs to be simple; be used, and the quality of reading performance.
and third, the utilities are about to boom in the Internet We’re glad we did it that way, because then there’s no
of Things. “Everyone else is taking the Apple-esque excuse for the three bidders not to know the
approach of beautiful displays and an app for every specification. We specified the outcome. We didn’t
device. We have 400 companies writing apps (for Tendril care if they bicycled around getting the readings.”
Connect). We’re the Android of the play,” says Tuck.
Kamstrup was the successful bidder. Lars Bo
Arjan van der Eijk, director of smart energy at Essent, Christensen, Kamstrup’s divisional director, Metering
points out, “For consumers, the real value of smart Systems, takes up the story. “We switched from PLC
meters comes not from the meter itself, but from because of the knowledge we gained over several
innovative, compelling applications that use analytics years delivering RF (radio frequency communications)
and other information to turn meter data into a and PLC solutions. The lifetime costs for RF are much
relevant message and action for the consumer.” smaller and PLC systems will always be unstable.”
So, M2M Now asked, do utilities understand the “We’re giving utilities more information from the
opportunity and threat of Big Data? “No,” says Neill grid,” insists Christensen, “from the substation down
Young, Trilliant’s EMEA marketing director, to a single household. We’re doing this because
unequivocally. “They’re a long way from that. There’s there’s a big change in grid usage coming
no thought over whether they need a meter reading through more renewable energy, from
every 30 minutes, because that’s what they’ve always solar panels and windmills.”
TX claims ‘world’s first’ for its
IPv6-enabled DECT ULE module
RTX, a Danish provider of wireless communications solutions, claimed
the world’s first IPv6-enabled DECT ULE wireless module at Broadband
World Forum in Amsterdam in October. The RTX 1050 / 1055 module is
designed for innovative, low power wireless devices and applications that aim to make the
Internet of Things a reality. All devices, from fridges to fire alarms, will eventually be
connected to the internet as well as to cloud services, says RTX.
DECT ULE is the ‘ultra-low energy’ variant of the DECT standard, which uses the 1.9GHz
band and reportedly suffers less interference than Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Zigbee that operate
Jesper at 2.4GHz. It provides connectivity to the internet for battery-powered equipment or
Mailind, metering applications (such as home automation, healthcare, security systems and smart
president and
CEO of RTX metering systems) within a 300 metre range.
Jesper Mailind, president and CEO of RTX, said, “(IPv6) can and should be applied to even the smallest devices
and low power devices with limited processing capabilities should be able to enter into the Internet of Things.”
M2M Now January 2013 15

16. EVENT REVIEW
What do customers
want in a smart home?
Numerous topics were covered at GridComms, a smart grid communications
infrastructure event held in London, UK, in October. But, as M2M Now reports,
speakers kept returning to the issue of customer confusion.
Smart grids in Europe gigawatts (GW) by 2020. Currently, the UK has more
In the opening session on ‘Latest advances in Smart than 5 GW of installed onshore wind capacity in
Grid’ that focused on the UK and Ireland, Sam Cope, operation. One area of focus that has emerged is the
senior manager for Policy Development, at Ofgem, requirement for DNOs to explore innovative technical
the UK energy regulator, said “Energy networks need to and commercial solutions to enable an accelerated and
be smarter. Third parties need to be involved, and low cost-efficient connection of renewable generation, such
carbon energy generation must have a higher emphasis.” as onshore wind, onto the distribution electricity network.”
Cope feels there’s a lack of clarity around what energy UK Power Networks has been awarded £6.7 million
demand will look like in the next 10 years, but (€8.3 million) in Ofgem’s (GB’s energy regulator) Low
concepts like smart grids and demand-side response Carbon Networks Fund competition, for the project
(DSR) can help. Flexible Plug and Play. The project started in January
2012 and trials are planned in a 700km2 area in the
Lynne McDonald, Low Carbon Project Manager within East of England, UK. This area has experienced
Future Networks, at the distribution network operator increased activity in renewable generation development;
(DNO), UK Power Networks, told the conference, existing generation totals 100MW, with 250MW of
“The UK Renewable Energy Strategy outlines a clear renewable generation capacity at various stages of the
commitment for an increase in the nation’s use of planning process looking to connect.
renewable electricity, with the Government setting the
Lynne McDonald,
target for 30% of the UK’s electricity to be generated The project aims to connect anticipated growth in
UK Power
from renewable energy sources by 2020'. renewable generation without the need for traditional
Networks:
Onshore wind a
network reinforcement by, instead, managing network
proven Onshore wind is an identified and proven technology constraints and maximising the network utilisation.
technology that will be a leading contributor to achieve the target; The project will achieve this through the integration of
the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) smart devices, smart applications and smart
projects that onshore wind could contribute up to 13 commercial arrangements.
16 M2M Now January 2013

17. Cable & Wireless Worldwide (CW&W) and Silver through consumer broadband. By 2020 nearly 50% of “ESB expects Irish
Spring Networks are also reported to be conducting all electricity in Ireland will be from renewables, the
trials with limited capacity for periods of high output. ESB man said.
wind power to be
They want to boost interoperability and commonality, an offshore
so their communication systems are set up with two Matthias Grandel, head of Technology & Solutions at
fibre backhaul networks. An IP-enabled RF Mesh E.ON Metering GmbH reported, “By the beginning platform for
network (with open standard protocol 61850) gives of 2013 Germany will, belatedly, meet the
the network a ‘self-healing’ capability. requirement to provide a CBA (cost benefit analysis of
Europe.”
smart grid roll-out). The legal framework in Germany - Tony Walsh,
This project is also sponsored by the LCN Fund. It will has been delayed by over one and a half years. The
be installed, tested and commissioned by March 2013, roll-out is still scheduled to be completed by 2020. The ESB Networks
using IP communications and open standards to technology is available now, but experts expect that
enhance grid communications skills, learn best 800 German utilities will start the roll-out in 2015.
practice, and improve usage analysis telemetry. Forty million meters need to be replaced,” he said.
ESB Networks is the licensed operator of the Technical and legal requirements are still unclear, and
Republic of Ireland’s electricity distribution system. Its E.ON is not sure if next year’s CBA will lead to a
spokesman, Anthony Walsh, began trenchantly by national roll-out. “We’re talking to European utilities
saying, “We have no interest in smart grids or to exchange knowledge, so that we can make a quick
telecoms…. except insofar that they help meet our decision on vendor technologies when the framework
goals of reduced CO2, reduced dependence on fossil is set. Next year is election year so who’s to say if the
fuels and increased competitiveness. Smart Grids are revised target of early 2013 will be met? But we can
not an end in themselves – they are a means to an end!” look at countries like France to see if their
technologies will fit in Germany,” Grandel added. Nandini
“We built up a telecom network with a good fibre Basuthakur,
backbone of over 2,500km on the transmission US comms infrastructure Opower: Give
system, that’s available to other communications One of the largest active smart meter deployments in customers
companies, and over 600, microwave radio network the USA, for Central Maine Power, is the installation meaningful
and polling radio sites. The upshot is that ESB is now by Tilson of more than 600,000 meters for CMP’s information
considering the feasibility of establishing a joint residential, commercial, and industrial customers, with
venture company to deploy fibre to the building (FTTB) smart meters as much as 30 miles apart across hills
whose core activity will be the deployment of FTTB to and valleys. In fact, there are many challenges; indoor
individual homes or premises in urban Ireland, using meters, trees, big buildings, RF Interference, and LTE
the ESB electricity overhead and underground rolling out.
infrastructure,” said Walsh.
Said Chuck Gerry, director of Utilities, at Tilson (Maine),
ESB prefers not to be dependent on complex “Iberdrola Energy’s territory in Maine is confronted by
communications systems when local control would be the challenge of trees. You can’t just lay in repeaters
sufficient and cheaper, and set up its first self-healing because you’d get high latency. But we’re reading
network circuit in Kerry, in a 470km loop that is very with over 98.5% success rate in (smart) meters now.”
exposed to the elements. This has operated
successfully, and a further 120 such circuits are “If we can save truck rolls from the head end, which
planned by 2015. While each recloser has SCADA can be 30-40 miles away there’s a large cost saving.
Control, in the event of a fault supply is restored by You have to pick the right solution for the
pre-programmed actions without the need for local geographical area. There’s no one solution; it could be
communications. This makes the system very resilient – GPRS, mesh, point to multipoint licensed or inlicensed,
and cheap. microwave, DSL, fibre, or cellular.”
“We’ve also built a trial WiMAX system in Galway – Jim Meadows is director of the Smart Meter Project at
it’s not a symmetric Ethernet solution, but this is Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). He said,
coming. It’s also highly dependent on GPS “We’re the DNO and retail supplier for half the land
synchronisation, so we will use our own existing mass of California, 181,000 square kilometres. PG&E
communications system to ensure it is always has six million accounts, serving 15 million people. We
synchronised," said Walsh. have two networks: one for electricity and one for gas.
It was more cost-effective to build two networks
"Line of sight is not a WiMAX requirement, but we because of different requirements, with topologies
nevertheless found coverage to be good. Moreover, as and so on.
part of ESB’s internal communications system it has a
level of resilience and utility control that would not be “What did we learn from our SmartMeter™
available from a commercial operator. Programme? Ensure that all customer-centric features
are enabled when the meter is installed — or it
"In contrast, GPRS can’t be relied on for mission becomes about the new meter!’ said Meadows.
critical operations; it’s outside utility control. We need
our own system as a GPRS crash would be most likely With PG&E’s smart metering, text messages are sent to
to happen when there is a power outage,” he added. customers if their usage increases and is about to cross
into a new billing level. They can download up to 13
ESB also expects that Ireland could be an offshore months of data. If customers agree to pay a Peak rate
Wind platform for Europe. Wind generation supply in for their aircon from 2-7pm in the hottest part of the
Ireland has already reached almost 50% of night peak day, they get a cheaper rate at other times.
demand in April 2010, which poses stability risks. PG&E now offers a no-questions opt-out from the
Demand management will most likely be operated SmartMeter™ Programme. “There was uproar in
M2M Now January 2013 17