Berg Insight: Oil and gas industry driving M2M

The number of devices with cellular or satellite connectivity deployed in oil & gas applications worldwide was 423,000 at the end of 2013, according to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.4 per cent, this number is expected to reach 1.12 million by 2018. The split between cellular and satellite-based M2M devices at the end of the forecast period will be 871,000 units and 244,000 units respectively. The oil & gas industry is characterised by remote and inaccessible facilities where wireless communication in many cases is the only viable option for transferring M2M data. Vodafone, Numerex and Orbcomm are examples of communication providers that have developed end-to-end oil & gas M2M applications through in-house resources and acquisitions. Release