According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of machines connected to cellular networks in North America will reach 66 million by 2011. At the end of 2006 there were about 9 million active cellular and satellite wireless M2M connections in the US and Canada . Private vehicles constitute the largest vertical market segment in terms of units, followed by commercial vehicles, security alarms and POS-terminals.

“The automobile manufacturers continue to drive the demand for wireless M2M on cellular networks in North America ”, said Tobias Ryberg , senior analyst, Berg Insight. “We expect that other brands will soon follow GM and incorporate telematics units as standard equipment in their vehicles.” Another significant development highlighted in the report is the urgency to upgrade older analogue solutions as the AMPS and Mobitex networks are dismantled in early 2008. Berg Insight estimates that one million security alarms are still connected to analogue networks in the US alone.

The report identifies utility meters as an area with enormous growth potential for cellular wireless M2M technology in the US and Canada . Berg Insight regards the deployment of advanced metering in important regions such as California and Ontario as a huge opportunity for cellular M2M industry players, but at the same time warns of intense competition from alternative wireless and power line communication technologies.

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