M2M growth opportunities captured through industry partnerships

Mobile operators believe their networks will be used by billions more devices over the next few years, as mobile connectivity spreads beyond personal communications into the Machine to Machine (M2M) market, which is expected to grow at 24% a year until 2018.

However, Vodafone has indicated that it wants to expand its M2M business beyond simple connectivity, and has recently announced its acquisition of Italian firm Cobra Automotive Technologies. The move will expand its M2M growth strategy beyond connectivity into providing services on top of it.