The GSMA said adoption of its common Embedded SIM standard will boost machine-to-machine (M2M) market growth by almost 40 per cent by 2020, as it revealed a string of big name backers for the specification.
An independent study by Beecham Research predicted that M2M market growth will be some 38 per cent higher by 2020 due to adoption of the GSMA's SIM standard than it would be without the specification, and that connectivity revenues could hit $8.9 billion (€7 billion) that year. The association said the goal of its common standard is to cut costs, improve efficiencies, and accelerate M2M adoption globally.
The GSMA also commented that the Embedded SIM specification allows mobile operators to provide secure connectivity for M2M devices even if they are hermetically sealed, for example connected cars or smart meters.
Beecham Research predicts the number of connections using the GSMA specification could hit 639 million per annum in 2020, but only if the industry adopts the standard in the next 12 months. In this scenario, the automotive industry is tipped for the greatest growth, with high adoption also forecast in consumer electronic devices.
The GSMA noted adoption of the standard is already high among big-name operators and SIM vendors. The association on Monday revealed that AT&T, Etisalat, NTT DoCoMo, Telefónica, Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, Morpho, Oberthur Technologies, Sierra Wireless and Telit have already launched products using its Embedded SIM standard.
Companies including Ericsson, Jasper, Telenor Connexion and Vodafone Group have also committed to launching the spec, the GSMA added.
"Our vision has always been to unite all stakeholders behind a single, common and global specification that will help accelerate the growing M2M market. It has also been our intention for the GSMA Embedded SIM specification to become the de facto industry standard," said GSMA CTO Alex Sinclair.
"Industry-wide adoption sets us on the path for the long-term growth and development of the industry and we welcome the news that the M2M community is ready to do business using the specification," Sinclair added.
For more:
- see this GSMA announcement
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