M2M Communication

in India

The Future is here

Harsimran Kaur

oday we are living in an age where our lifestyle is very much dependent on machines and their ability to communicate effectively thus simplifying our minor as well as major day to day tasks. The concept of a remote controlled lifestyle could only be imagined. But the development of machine to machine communication has to a large extent materialized this concept into reality where data is transmitted through a system of networks to various devices.

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Machine to machine communication refers to technologies that allow the wireless and wired systems to communicate with other devices of the same ability without or with little manual assistance of humans. It is an automated information exchange between two machines. It is accomplished by telemetry, a language used by machines to communicate with each other. The expansion of wireless networks across the world has enabled M2M communication not only easy but far less expensive. Also the

communication was 47.7million in 2008.The Company forecasts that the number of M2M connections will increase to 187 million by 2014. Telematics and in- vehicles entertainment is an area of focus for M2M developers. Apart from telecom M2M is also expected have an impact on automotive telematics, healthcare, transportation, logistics, manufacturing, retail and many such spheres. The 25 billion IP- connected devices by 2015 has attracted companies like Cisco to join the M2M market.

time taken to deliver messages has lessened to a considerable extent. Wireless networks are all interconnected; they help to improve production and efficiency in various areas. Various services and application system that involve M2M communication include intelligent transport system, smart grid and power distribution design and automation. These networks have opened mass markets and several business opportunities and connections between consumers and producers in terms of the products being sold.

The Fast growing Indian M2M market

The explosively growing M2M market has presented the nations including India as a source for new services revenue. The growing importance and advantages of this technology can be judged from the fact that this technology is being developed and tapped at an extensive rate over the world. Gartner predicts, M2M is one of the top10 mobile technologies to watch. According to the independent wireless analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of cellular network connections worldwide used for M2M

M2M communication via the mobile network that is SIM- card based M2M communication is showing an immense potential for the future; especially in India where mobile phone customer base is growing rapidly. It is fast becoming a fundamental part of the digital world. Telit Wireless Solutions, a global leader in the field of Machine-toMachine (M2M) communications, is keen to invest in the Indian M2M communication market. The quick and cost effective data transmission now provided by mobile networks in particular has given M2M an even greater boost. People are keen to implement M2M technology into their existing deployments and applications to enhance their performance using wireless technologies as it makes them more viable and efficient, says Ashish Gulati, country head for Telit's India operations. He is also of the opinion that introduction of large scale national agendas such as R-APDRP and Aadhaar (UID) are fuelling the growth of M2M market in India.

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According to research firm 6Wresearch, India M2M modules market is expected to generate 556.43 crores by 2016, with an estimated compound annual growth rate 33.81 per cent from 2011 to 2016. In 2011, short range M2M modules have accounted for 49.48 per cent of the market share in overall M2M modules market; while the cellular M2M modules generated 51.75 crores in 2011 and are expected to reach 234.95 crores by 2016; also satellite M2M modules generated 13.74 crores in 2011 and are expected to reach 60.35 crores by 2016. The report also states that applications such as utilities and security are expected to grow with a relatively high compound annual growth rate of 38.12 per cent and 35.24 percent respectively for the same period. According to the report the market is still at a nascent stage but they are expecting it to grow rapidly. Especially the emergence of 3G in India has fuelled the growth of M2M communications.

3G and 4G fuelling the M2M market

The Draft Telecom Policy released by the Ministry of Information and Technology in 2011 has stressed on the opportunities that M2M offers. Shri Kapil Sibal, the Union Minister of Communications and Information and Human Resource Development has said that the Telecommunication has emerged as a key driver of economic and social development and in an increasingly knowledge intensive global scenario India needs to play a leadership role. The policy aims to transform the Indian socio- economic scenario through 'accelerated equitable and inclusive economic growth by laying special emphasis on providing affordable and quality telecommunication services in rural and remote areas.' Projects like UID- Aadhaar too by the government will act as a driving factor for the market. Reliance Communication is one of the big players to have caught on to the M2M market. It sees a large potential in both the rural and urban markets in India. In the rural market the applications that were developed facilitated Automation of Agro & Irrigation services, water level monitoring, and data gathering for milk & agri-cooperatives, fisheries, poultry, and soil analysis. In the urban market the focus has been on mobile ticketing, purchase at Kiosks and vending machines, and remote monitoring of office automation products. Today 3G is being considered a path breaking technology that will change the lifestyle of people in India. Experts say that it is due to the unavailability of advanced technologies like the 3G that have prevented service providers from deploying high end M2M services, which require greater bandwidth. Some M2M applications such as video surveillance, transportation fleet management, etc require high speed data connectivity, for which advanced wireless technologies like 3G is required. 4G technology too is dawning on the Indian telecom market with Airtel launching 4G services in Kolkata using network equipment from ZTE Corp. The 3G networks and devices support faster, bandwidth-heavy data traffic, making them ideal for certain M2M verticals that depend on the distribution of large amounts of data or video, as is the case with security. But the overall cost of application is very high. Higher-bandwidth data plans also result in additional service costs. Experts also feel that except for certain consumer applications the use of 3G technology for M2M will be limited.

M2M addressing major issues of the Indian Economy

According to Gulati, M2M applications will be readily accepted in the Indian market

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due to its potential of having a long term impact in the form of economic gains and lessen environmental concerns to an extent. One of the biggest concerns for the government that it is trying to address is the issue of transmission and distribution (T&D) and commercial losses in the power sector. A majority of T&D losses is due to pilferage and theft of electricity. The monitoring systems are based on outdated technologies which are unable to put a check on these practices effectively. Smart metering concepts like introduction of wireless AMRs based on M2M technologies can alleviate such issues to a great extent are needed. The microfinance and rural banking institutions are increasingly turning to rely on wireless M2M enabled technologies to reach out to the rural areas. Not only these but the agro and the logistics industry are relying on advanced M2M modules that will help them reduce wastage and increase efficiency. Telit, which acquired Motorola's M2M division last year, is now looking to get M2M into micro finance as well. We are already into AMR (automated meter reading) applications for power utilities in India, which enable utilities to monitor how much power is consumed by industrial consumers and how much is billed back, and whether there was any theft on the way between on transformer and the other, says Gulati. As an example, he cited that in automotive, M2M technology is helpful in emergency situations. AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) solutions assist vehicle owners in cases of theft and accidents. The company sees a great potential of M2M wireless technologies in India and is therefore is planning to expand its base in the region. Industry experts believe that M2M applications will provide new revenue opportunities especially for mobile operators and those who have not yet began to explore and utilize M2M service opportunities should begin soon. Security and surveillance is an area which is growing rapidly in the country both commercially and residentially. Telecom service providers like Reliance and Airtel have been working on their M2M applications primarily for the rural markets, but the urban market also has a lot of potential. More and more people are indulging in e-commerce and m-commerce and that is a great indicator that they will embrace M2M communications as well, concludes Gulati.

Challenges posing the Indian M2M market

The market for wireless M2M applications had been slow and limited to industrial uses such as smart grid utility meters sending data over cellular networks. This is due to the challenges that the M2M market faces, which prevent the industries from exploiting the full potential of these applications. Many Indian operators are not yet structuring their businesses to include a M2M business division. The lack of MVNO(Mobile Virtual Network Operator) play which could hinder specialized application offerings and lack of focus and demand for these applications are some obstacles in the progress of the M2M communication market. But with M2M technology there are endless possibilities as to the number of innovative devices that can be developed that leverage M2M technology and India is moving towards harnessing and using this technology to its full potential.

Big players like Vodafone, Airtel and Reliance keen to tap into the fast growing M2M Market in India Vodafone
Big players like Vodafone, Airtel and Reliance are looking at expanding their enterprises in India. Since more and more

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CEC is a state-of-the-art engagement facility designed to enable business customers to explore a world of innovative communication solutions.

Airtel
Airtel has just recently launched their 4G services in Kolkata thus opening up new dimensions for the growth of M2M communications in India. The company expects an increase in M2M connections as 4G becomes widely available. The Chennai Tax Corporation (CTC) spent Rs 93 lakh on 300 SIM cardbased machines, which run on the networks of, Airtel. The CTC is not the only example, in Bhubaneswar, 50 Orissa State Transport Corporation buses have their seats embedded with SIM cardbased devices that send alerts to digital billboards on bus stops to indicate the number of seats vacant. In Punjab, the state education department is using biometrics on top of a SIM card-based device that transmits attendance record of teachers in government schools to a central database. Such M2M applications though small are slowly making way for a faster , easier and error free calculation and preservation of large data. Says Najib Khan, chief marketing officer (enterprise services), Bharti Airtel: "Connected devices using telecom networks will explode. They will overtake the human subscriber base by 2020 or even earlier.

Reliance
corporate are turning towards wireless M2M solutions to enhance customer service in areas including smart metering, connected cars and the remote monitoring of equipment, Vodafone plans to bring its expertise to this fast developing market. Vodafone Business Service has already gained over 3 million corporate customers in India. It currently provides services to over 60,000 global and national businesses. It has also said, its customer experience center (CEC) for enterprises will begin its operations in Mumbai from June 2012. It will expand CEC to other cities in order to attract more customers. "With the global advantage and connect with Vodafone Global Enterprise (VGE) business unit, we are uniquely positioned to serve the needs of international as well as national companies in India," said Marten Pieters, MD & CEO, Vodafone India. " Mr S P Shukla, President Wireless, Reliance Communications quoted, The Indian telecom wireless rural subscriber base is now over 125 million. The next wave of telecom growth is emerging from rural India. With rural base expected to double in the next few years, RCOM is committed to drive this exponential growth through innovative and ground breaking service offerings and tariffs. Under Reliance BharatNet Plan, it is planning to launch High-speed wireless internet connectivity & service across rural India. Internet Speed will be approximately 153 Kbps, much faster than current dial-up connections. The M2M applications established by the company for the rural market include automation of agro & Irrigation services, water level monitoring, and data gathering for milk & agricooperatives, fisheries, poultry, and soil analysis.

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