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Every year the mobile industry converges on Barcelona for Mobile World Congress. This year, machine-to-machine and the internet of things were prominent trends. New connected devices were everywhere. There were more connected cars on the show floor than ever before, with the likes of BMW, Ford and Tesla prominently on display. Wearables were also one of the hot topics at the show, including lots of smart watches such as Samsung’s Gear Fit and Gear 2 Neo, Huawei’s Talkband, and the OMATE. But it didn’t stop there. We also saw smart textiles from Cityzen Sciences and ingestible technology in the form of smart pills from Proteus Digital Health. There was even a connected toothbrush from Oral-B.

Just as interesting as what was being connected, there was naturally a lot of discussion about how these devices would be connected. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) was prominent. Its low power consumption and data transfer characteristics make it particularly appropriate for M2M/IoT applications. In the home automation space Qualcomm is gaining some momentum for its AllJoyn Alliance, which is looking to supersede DLNA as the in-home networking technology of choice, as long as it can avoid the fragmentation issues that have dogged other similar initiatives in the past. Finally Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) networks, such as those provided by Coronis, Neul, SigFox, and new boys Nwave, were evidently front of mind for many players. Abertis announced that it was deploying a SigFox network in Spain.

While Mobile World Congress encompasses a wide range of different technologies, it is of course cellular that is top of mind for everyone at the event, and there were a number of interesting M2M-related developments in this field too. The most important was around redefining LTE for M2M. ‘Cat.0’ is the term used for the evolving LTE standard within 3GPP focused on Machine Type Communication (MTC), part of 3GPP release 12. The aim is to configure LTE modules for the expected volumes of M2M, specifically low cost, low latency and capped data performance. The big questions are: when will it get to market and how low can the price go? Can LTE Cat.0 rival GSM in terms of pricing? How low can Cat.1 prices fall?

With discussion now firmly focused on the mobile industry and its approach to M2M, it is also worth noting a couple of trends that were apparent there. One trend was around increasing attempts to provide greater value-add layers. Mobile Network Operators, for instance, are aiming to offer greater horizontal capabilities (e.g. security, enterprise integration and data analytics). This was not a trend limited to MNOs. Jasper Wireless was keen to offer its operator partners more value-add, while Amdocs is looking to develop products for its operators to take to market.

The other major trend for MNOs was around the continuing pursuit of the global opportunity. The eUICC technology is now relatively mature and was demonstrated by a number of vendors and operators. Furthermore, the global operator alliances, such as the Global M2M Association (GMA) and the M2M World Alliance (MWA), are becoming more mature, and resolving many of the remaining commercial and technical challenges. One big piece of M2M-related news that emerged at the show was the Telenor Connexion has decided to license the Jasper Wireless platform. At first glance it seems surprising, as Telenor Connexion was responsible for developing Ericsson’s DCP platform, Jasper Wireless’s main rival. However, the motivation for Telenor is simple: tap into as many potential groups of operators as possible. Providing global solutions is going to involve a diverse range of platforms and a patchwork of intra-alliance relationships. The Bridge Alliance in Asia recently announced an M2M initiative. There are members of the Bridge Alliance that are also in the GMA and the MWA.

Finally, it’s impossible to attend a conference these days without some mention of Big Data. Opportunities and interest in Big Data analytics has become part of the story in and of the Internet of Things, evidenced by the reference to data analytics and the increasing presence of traditionally IT-focused businesses. Mobile operators are exploring how to turn to these services into products, and system integrators are exploring how they can capture these revenue opportunities. One key message is clear– there are benefits to be achieved from Big Data but who actually owns the data continues to generate differing messages and awaits guidance from regulators, service providers and the market.

For more detail on Machina Research’s views on the M2M and IoT developments at Mobile World Congress (as well as an early assessment of how our predictions for M2M/IoT in 2014 are panning out), see our webinar, which is available to download:https://machinaresearch.com/news/webinar-machina-researchs-observations-on-m2miot-at-mobile-world-congress-2014/