PTC Acquires ThingWorx
Acquisition accelerates PTC’s ability to support companies seeking product and service advantage in a smart, connected world.
PTC (Nasdaq: PTC) today announced it has acquired ThingWorx, creators of an award-winning platform for building and running applications for the Internet of Things (IoT), for approximately $112 million, plus a possible earn-out of up to $18 million. The acquisition of ThingWorx positions PTC as a major player in the emerging Internet of Things era.
The ThingWorx acquisition extends PTC’s strategy by accelerating its ability to support manufacturers seeking competitive advantage as they create and service smart, connected products. As part of PTC, ThingWorx will continue to help customers in a wide range of industries seeking to leverage the IoT, including telecommunications, utilities, medical devices, agriculture, and transportation, as well as an emerging partner network of IoT-enabled service providers.
According to a recent research report Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy (May, 2013) from the McKinsey Global Institute, the Internet of Things has the potential to create economic impact of $2.7 trillion to $6.2 trillion annually by 2025. The firm believes perhaps 80 to 100 percent of all manufacturing could be using Internet of Things applications by then, leading to potential economic impact of $900 billion to $2.3 trillion, largely from productivity gains. For example, with increasingly sophisticated Internet of Things technologies becoming available, companies can not only track the flow of products or keep track of physical assets, but they can also manage the performance of individual machines and systems.
In the IoT era, PTC’s customers are bringing to market increasingly smart and connected products which can generate value in new ways as streams of real-time operational data are captured, analyzed, and shared to deepen a company’s understanding of its products’ performance, use, and reliability. PTC will use the ThingWorx platform to speed the creation of high value IoT applications that support manufacturers’ service strategies, such as predictive maintenance and system monitoring, in complement to PTC’s existing service lifecycle management (SLM) and extended product lifecycle management (PLM) solution portfolio. With ThingWorx, PTC will also now offer its customers a means to establish a secure, reliable connection to their products as well as a platform to rapidly develop applications for maintaining and operating them – and ultimately for finding ways to create new value from them.
“All aspects of our strategy to date have centered on helping manufacturing companies transform how they create and service smart, connected products,” said PTC president and CEO Jim Heppelmann.
“For manufacturers today, it is clear to us that improved service strategies and service delivery is the near-term ‘killer app’ for the Internet of Things and this opportunity has guided our strategy for some time. With this acquisition, PTC now possesses an innovation platform that will allow us to accelerate how we help our customers capitalize on the market opportunity that the IoT presents.”
The opportunity, however, goes well beyond this immediate pragmatic application. Industries of all types are poised to see disruption from the Internet of Things and the expanding networks of connected sensors and devices, and a growing ecosystem of ThingWorx partners is forming to capitalize on this growth. As part of PTC, ThingWorx intends to continue serving this diverse market with senior management continuing to focus on its current path.
“At ThingWorx, we share PTC’s vision for helping organizations fundamentally leverage the connected world,” said Russell Fadel, CEO and co-founder, ThingWorx.
“We believe all industries, but especially manufacturing, will be transformed in the Internet of Things era. We are excited to pursue this broad set of opportunities with the resources and proven solution portfolio that PTC provides.”
The acquisition is expected to add more than $10 million of revenue over the next 12 months, with $5 million to $7 million of revenue in FY’14. As a result of cost synergies and investment plans for ThingWorx, PTC still expects FY’14 non-GAAP EPS of $2.00 to $2.10. PTC drew $110 million from its credit facility to finance the transaction.
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M2M Visions of 2020
Jeffrey O. Smith, Chief Technology Officer and EVP at Numerex, shares his vision of the connected world in 2020.
Ten years ago, while executing a keynote presentation at an M2M industry tradeshow, I showed a live demonstration of remote monitoring of a “real” system inside of a virtual world. I commanded my avatar to push a button in the then-popular Second Life and a video inside that virtual world showed a real-life robotic bunny’s ears falling. We’ve come a long way since then but I still believe we will know M2M is successful when nobody notices it.
Certainly there are overly hyped M2M applications that will inevitably play out to be less dramatic than predicted. But when technology is simple, embedded and invisible, that’s when we’ll see greatness.
Imbedded Lifestyle
By the year 2020, connected devices will become the reality we’ve been waiting for. Our cars will report how much fuel we used, meters will control our thermostats, pedometers will unlock our refrigerators only when we’ve walked the required amount of daily steps. Doctors and caretakers will know something is wrong with our organs before we do. We will be inundated by more ISM short range protocols than we can imagine embedded in our shoes, pacemakers, medicine bottles, wallets, eyeglasses, watches, dog collars, trash bins and more. Sensors will be embedded in bridges and ceilings and roads. Bluetooth Low Energy, ANT and mesh networks, ultra-low-power, short-range wireless technology designed for sensor networks, will provide connected “dust” that reports petabytes of information back through gateways requiring petaflops of computing power.
Radio Communications
By the third decade of this millennium, we will also see the continuation of the evolution of board to module to chip. The integration of short range ISM radios such as WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee and Z-wave on these modules will proliferate. Radios will become more application specific with software embedded for wireless and wired protocols such as Modbus over Ethernet and ZigBee over 802.15.4. I also believe Java will abandon Linux and will go bare metal in order to improve on resources, energy, and startup time.
Greater Security Required
The transient effects of large numbers of M2M devices and the coordination of those devices in situations of anomaly will become more important as the number of devices will outnumber handsets ten-fold. These devices will have both publishing and subscription capabilities, communicating on a peer to peer basis. As these devices are deployed, the complex interaction between them and the network will cause perturbations that could have a detrimental effect on the network, much like “packet storms” in IP networks.
This pending social network of machines has implications for security, too. If we subscribe to other companies, the government, or even a sensor crowd source of information, how do we know it is secure and accurate? Security will be the next important leap forward in M2M.
Desire Drives the Future
Looking forward to 2020 and beyond, these predictions (and perhaps all others re: M2M’s future) boil down to two key areas of human desire: Our desire to explore and make sense of our universe and our desire to manage our lives more efficiently (and add longevity).
As a result, we will continue using big data in search of the “God Particle” that makes sense out of everything. And “digital noise,” will continue to have a strong influence on society and culture. Device lifecycle management will be more important than ever as humans will be truly interacting and subscribing to information from sources which we do not control…
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PTC Acquires Leading Internet of Things Platform Provider ThingWorx
30 December 2013 - PTC (Nasdaq: PTC) today announced it has acquired ThingWorx, creators of an award-winning platform for building and running applications for the Internet of Things (IoT), for approximately $112 million, plus a possible earn-out of up to $18 million. The acquisition of ThingWorx positions PTC as a major player in the emerging Internet of Things era.
The ThingWorx acquisition extends PTC's strategy by accelerating its ability to support manufacturers seeking competitive advantage as they create and service smart, connected products. As part of PTC, ThingWorx will continue to help customers in a wide range of industries seeking to leverage the IoT, including telecommunications, utilities, medical devices, agriculture, and transportation, as well as an emerging partner network of IoT-enabled service providers.
According to a recent research report Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy (May, 2013) from the McKinsey Global Institute, the Internet of Things has the potential to create economic impact of $2.7 trillion to $6.2 trillion annually by 2025. The firm believes perhaps 80 to 100 percent of all manufacturing could be using Internet of Things applications by then, leading to potential economic impact of $900 billion to $2.3 trillion, largely from productivity gains. For example, with increasingly sophisticated Internet of Things technologies becoming available, companies can not only track the flow of products or keep track of physical assets, but they can also manage the performance of individual machines and systems.
In the IoT era, PTC's customers are bringing to market increasingly smart and connected products which can generate value in new ways as streams of real-time operational data are captured, analyzed, and shared to deepen a company's understanding of its products' performance, use, and reliability. PTC will use the ThingWorx platform to speed the creation of high value IoT applications that support manufacturers' service strategies, such as predictive maintenance and system monitoring, in complement to PTC's existing service lifecycle management (SLM) and extended product lifecycle management (PLM) solution portfolio. With ThingWorx, PTC will also now offer its customers a means to establish a secure, reliable connection to their products as well as a platform to rapidly develop applications for maintaining and operating them - and ultimately for finding ways to create new value from them.
"All aspects of our strategy to date have centered on helping manufacturing companies transform how they create and service smart, connected products," said PTC president and CEO Jim Heppelmann. "For manufacturers today, it is clear to us that improved service strategies and service delivery is the near-term ‘killer app' for the Internet of Things and this opportunity has guided our strategy for some time. With this acquisition, PTC now possesses an innovation platform that will allow us to accelerate how we help our customers capitalize on the market opportunity that the IoT presents."
The opportunity, however, goes well beyond this immediate pragmatic application. Industries of all types are poised to see disruption from the Internet of Things and the expanding networks of connected sensors and devices, and a growing ecosystem of ThingWorx partners is forming to capitalize on this growth. As part of PTC, ThingWorx intends to continue serving this diverse market with senior management continuing to focus on its current path.
"At ThingWorx, we share PTC's vision for helping organizations fundamentally leverage the connected world," said Russell Fadel, CEO and co-founder, ThingWorx. "We believe all industries, but especially manufacturing, will be transformed in the Internet of Things era. We are excited to pursue this broad set of opportunities with the resources and proven solution portfolio that PTC provides."
The acquisition is expected to add more than $10 million of revenue over the next 12 months, with $5 million to $7 million of revenue in FY'14. As a result of cost synergies and investment plans for ThingWorx, PTC still expects FY'14 non-GAAP EPS of $2.00 to $2.10. PTC drew $110 million from its credit facility to finance the transaction.
About PTC
PTC (Nasdaq: PTC) enables manufacturers to achieve sustained product and service advantage. The company's technology solutions transform the way products are created and serviced across the entire product lifecycle - from conception and design to sourcing and service. Founded in 1985, PTC employs over 6,000 professionals serving more than 27,000 businesses in rapidly-evolving, globally distributed manufacturing industries worldwide. Get more information at www.ptc.com.
Source: PTC
Huawei backs 4G technology for M2M
China’s Huawei has thrown its considerable weight behind the promotion of 4G technology for use with M2M services.
In a statement about its progress on winning 4G business, the equipment vendor said that while LTE networks are today being used mainly to connect people to the internet they would increasingly provide support for M2M and Internet of Things solutions.
David Wang, the president of Huawei’s (Shenzhen, China) wireless network business unit, said:
“The mobile networks of the future will connect to any device, anywhere in the world, with near zero latency. The opportunities for industry are infinite – for medicine, retailing, transport, banking, media, education and manufacturing.”
According to Huawei, LTE could be used in a variety of M2M applications, from connected vehicles and intelligent traffic management systems to domestic utility meters and smart grids.
Huawei’s statement comes several weeks after the publication of a new paper by Machina Research forecasting that LTE would become the main cellular M2M technology by 2022.
According to the market-research company, the decommissioning of 2G networks, rapidly expanding LTE coverage and falling equipment prices will all work to 4G’s advantage.
AT&T (Dallas, TX, USA) and Verizon Wireless (New York City, NY, USA) have already announced plans to shut down their 2G networks over the next few years – moves that will force M2M customers using older cellular technology to move to newer standards.
M2M customers whose bandwidth needs are fairly limited have expressed concern about the cost of LTE subscriptions and devices, but these seem to be dropping as networks are built and 4G-compatible modules appear.
Huawei now claims to have signed a total of 241 LTE contracts worldwide. In the meantime, new M2M applications are being developed that need higher-speed connections to operate effectively.
Source: telecomengine.com
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STMicroelectronics Joins ARM mbed Project
New collaboration enables developers to create smart products with ARM-based industry-leading STM32 microcontrollers and accelerates the Internet of Things.
ARM®, the world’s leading semiconductor IP supplier, and STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronic applications today announced that ST has joined the ARM mbed™ Project. The agreement will give developers using ST’s STM32 microcontroller range, based on the ARM Cortex®-M processor series, free access to the mbed software, development tools and online collaboration platform, enabling them to realize their own visions for the new wave of intelligent electronics products.
ARM mbed is a collaborative industry project to nurture the Internet of Things (IoT) and meet the needs of a new professional developer audience. It delivers free tools and fundamental open-source hardware and software building blocks for the rapid development of innovative ARM-based devices. The project also enables the easy integration of connectivity, sensor and cloud service software components and the tools and support for a dynamic, collaborative developer and partner ecosystem.
ST’s STM32 microcontroller range starts at starts at just $0.32, and the MCUs address the full spectrum of applications from simple products to entire platform solutions. Combined with the mbed platform, this offers software portability, diverse connectivity options and a rapid development approach for a full range of Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
“The mbed project is bringing together leading technology companies to create a step change in productivity for embedded device development,” said Simon Ford, director, IoT Platforms, ARM.
“We have learnt from the web and smartphone revolutions that by building an open-source software platform with reusable software components and free development and collaboration tools, we can enable the creation of IoT and smart devices on a previously unimagined scale.”
“By joining the mbed project, ST is enabling developers across diverse markets to quickly prototype and create new products based on leading-edge STM32 microcontrollers,” said Daniel Colonna, Microcontrollers Marketing Manager at ST.
“The support for mbed will be launched in Q1 with a brand new line of STM32 microcontroller development boards to provide a consistent way to develop with devices across the STM32 portfolio at hardware and software levels.”
The first mbed-enabled STM32 development boards will be launched in February 2014, and support for other boards and targets will follow. Find out more and get involved at http://mbed.org
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Tele2 and Wipro in M2M/IoT partnership
Tele2 AB (Tele2), today announced a partnership with Wipro Limited for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT).
Tele2 and Wipro have formed a strategic partnership to provide business customers with M2M/IoT solutions that will help them reduce cost and open up for new revenue streams. The agreement will help customers implement solutions that reduce time-to-market and the cost of development and operations.
Rami Avidan, Head of Tele2 M2M Global Solutions, comments:
“Partnerships is the right way of going to market in the M2M/IoT world. At Tele2, we are actively focusing on our partnership strategy. By partnering with Wipro we can jointly offer an end-to-end solution that will help our customers to realize business opportunities in a simple, flexible and secure way.”
Wipro Limited is a leading information technology, consulting and outsourcing company with 145.000 employees worldwide and presence in 61 countries globally.
Alan Atkins, Vice President and Global Head of M2M at Wipro, states:
“Wipro is investing heavily to drive the M2M business forward. We are happy to announce the partnership with Tele2, which will help us to continue this drive towards end-to-end solutions to customers across Europe.”
For more information about Tele2 M2M Global Solutions, visit: m2m.tele2.com
For more information about Wipro, visit: wipro.com
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Numerex Expands Supply Chain Product Portfolio
New Offering Delivers Innovative Solutions for Distributors of Bulk Liquids.
Numerex (Nasdaq:NMRX) a leading provider of on-demand and interactive machine-to-machine (M2M) enterprise solutions, announced today the acquisition of certain assets, products and technology used in the remote monitoring and management of bulk tanks. With the addition of these new offerings, Numerex expands the scope and scale of its core supply chain and remote monitoring business. This new Numerex solution is purpose-designed for use by regional oil and bulk liquid distributors to manage the bulk inventory of their customers. The solution is currently deployed by distributors and integrated oil and gas companies at large and small retailers, manufacturing sites, and bulk storage facilities.
Built on Numerex FAST®, a cloud-based, highly scalable, service delivery platform; this end-to-end solution provides distributors of bulk liquids access to accurate, real-time tank level data through an intelligent, web-based management portal. The information delivered by these new products aids in planning deliveries and in optimizing route scheduling without compromising customer service levels. Using this information, distributors are able to drive operational efficiencies in their core distribution business and assist their customers in avoiding stock-outs.
This expansion of the product offering continues Numerex’s strategy of utilizing its FAST® horizontal service delivery platform to quickly deploy critical solutions to targeted verticals, allowing customers to improve the way they operate their businesses. In addition to offering innovative products and solutions, Numerex provides substantial resources and capabilities in the areas of customer service, operations, and engineering.
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GSMA Publishes ‘Embedded SIM’ Specification For Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Services
Embedded SIM Initiative Aims to Accelerate the M2M Market Addressing Key Sectors Including Transportation and Utilities.
The GSMA today announced the publication of its specification to enable the remote ‘over the air’ provisioning and management of Embedded SIMs in machine-to-machine (M2M) devices. The specification, which has the backing of the world’s leading mobile operators and SIM suppliers, will help to ensure interoperable technical solutions and further accelerate the rapidly growing M2M market. First deployments of the GSMA-compliant Embedded SIM solution are expected to roll out in 2014.
“The number of mobile connected devices is expected to reach 11 billion by 2020, growth that will be led predominantly by advances in the M2M market,” said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA.
“This level of growth will be heavily dependent on the adoption of a common, global and interoperable SIM provisioning and management architecture that enables the M2M market to flourish.”
“The specification released today will have a significant impact on the M2M marketplace, as it will help provide lower operational costs and drive economies of scale.”
The use of traditional SIMs – which require insertion and replacement – in M2M devices for transportation, utility metering or other applications can present challenges, as M2M devices are often remotely located and hermetically sealed. A specific non-removable SIM is embedded into the M2M device at the point of manufacture and can later be remotely provisioned with the subscription profile of the operator providing the connectivity, which can be subsequently changed or modified over the air. This eliminates the need to intervene to replace SIM cards over the lifetime of each M2M product, reducing ongoing operational and logistical costs.
The Embedded SIM specification allows mobile network operators to provide scalable, reliable and secure connectivity for M2M connected devices. Further, the industry-standard Embedded SIM eliminates the need for each operator to develop their own technical solution for the remote provisioning of their SIMs and also facilitates operator switching if required at the end of a contract.
The Embedded SIM project has the backing of operators and SIM products and solutions partners from across the globe, including AT&T, China Mobile, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, Morpho (Safran), NTT DOCOMO, Oberthur Technologies, Orange, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telenor and Vodafone.
For more information on the GSMA’s Embedded SIM project visit http://www.gsma.com/connectedliving/embedded-sim/
PARTNER QUOTES
AT&T
“This is an important step in ushering in a new era for M2M technology and as the global leader in providing M2M solutions we are pleased to have worked closely with the GSMA and industry partners to deliver a specification that works in the industry’s best interests,” said Cameron Coursey, vice president of Product Development and Operations, AT&T Emerging Devices.
AUDI
“Without a globally recognized, standardised and harmonised connectivity solution the automotive industry will become unnecessarily complex and fragmented. As a car manufacturer an Embedded SIM that can be remotely provisioned is absolutely key for us in driving efficiency and simplicity and is to be welcomed. We thank the GSMA and partners for agreeing this specification,” commented Marcus Keith, Project Management Audi connect.
GEMALTO
“The embedded SIM specification is the result of close collaboration between MNOs and major innovative industry players in the M2M sector. By defining an interoperable technical framework covering remote subscription management, the industry has marked another element for a strong start for large scale deployments of Machine-to-Machine applications,” said Norbert Muhrer, Senior Vice President of M2M, Gemalto.
GIESECKE & DEVRIENT
“The OTA provisioning and management of Embedded SIMs is the biggest revolution for the SIM since its invention for mobile phones. Working together we have created the secure and flexible technology to connect up billions of M2M devices and enable the Internet of Things,” said Carsten Ahrens, Group Senior Vice President, Division Server Software and Services Division 3S at Giesecke & Devrient.
MORPHO (SAFRAN)
“The growth of the M2M market is a major evolution in the telecoms industry. It requires a flexible solution for managing secure access to networks over the long term. Morpho is pleased to contribute to initiatives supporting the development of new telecommunications businesses,” said Yves Portalier, Senior Vice President Telecoms, Morpho, e-Documents Division.
NTT DOCOMO
“A unified solution for Embedded SIMs is critical to meet the needs for global M2M applications. This specification, which was developed through cross-industry efforts, will boost the adoption of Embedded SIMs in all regions, including Asia,” commented Koichi Takahara, Managing Director of NTT DOCOMO’s M2M Business Department.
OBERTHUR TECHNOLOGIES
“The creation of a single, global Embedded SIM specification is welcomed by operators, security products and solutions providers and business partners alike, as it enables the activation of globally distributed devices anytime, anywhere. Therefore, it will create a stronger global M2M ecosystem,” said Christian Lefebvre, Managing Director Telecom Product Line at Oberthur Technologies.
VODAFONE
“Vodafone remains convinced that a prerequisite for Embedded SIM applications is interoperable standards. We very much welcome the release of such standards for the M2M arena, which will help to accelerate innovative solutions developed with our partners,” commented Stephen Packer, Head of Platforms and Enablers, Vodafone Group Terminals.
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Telit Unwraps First Positioning Module Based on MediaTek’s Single Chip Multi-GNSS Receiver SoC Technology
Jupiter SL869 V2 to Deliver Ultra-low Standby Power for Consumer and Industrial Devices Discovering GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS and SBAS constellations.
Telit Wireless Solutions, a global provider of high-quality machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions, products and services, today announced the market introduction of Jupiter SL869 V2, the second generation of one of its top performing positioning products. The new module is based on the low-power MT3333 from MediaTek. The complete multi-GNSS receiver features easy integration and superior battery-life performance, able to discover and simultaneously track multiple constellations. It also delivers a high-sensitivity RF front-end, enhancing reliability and functionality of geo-location aware consumer, commercial and industrial devices.
The Jupiter SL869 V2 supports GPS, QZSS and Glonass and is ready for Galileo and Compass/Beidou. Two variants of product deliver simultaneously tracking of different combinations of constellations: either GPS + Galileo and Glonass; or GPS + Galileo and Compass/Beidou. Geo-location data is delivered using NMEA protocol through a standard UART port. It supports ephemeris file injection (A-GPS) as well as Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) to increase position accuracy. Its onboard software engine is able to locally predict ephemeris three days in advance starting from ephemeris data broadcast by GNSS satellites, received by the module and stored in the internal Flash memory.
The SL869 V2 can replace the JN3 or SL869 in device designs with the observance of a few simple application rules. That allows customers to design once and interchangeably mount the JN3, SL869 or SL869 V2 depending on required features. The xL869 is Telit’s GNSS unified form factor family which allows customers to select among different GNSS technologies and feature sets. Modules in this family are offered in a 16 x 12.2 mm, 24-pad, LCC package.
When designing position-aware, connected devices, developers can also benefit significantly from the seamless integration between Telit cellular modules and the Jupiter SL869 V2. Bundling of all-Telit cellular and positioning modules significantly reduces development complexity without adding costs. Multi-GNSS modules applied together with the company’s eCall / ERA-GLONASS compliant cellular modules can, for example, deliver ready-to-use emergency automotive tracking solutions for the European and Russian markets.
“MediaTek is extremely pleased to partner with Telit on its latest generation multi-GNSS Jupiter positioning solution,” said SR Tsai, general manager of MediaTek’s Wireless Connectivity and Networking business unit.
“MediaTek’s multi-constellation location technology has been widely proven globally. The MT3333 single-chip SoC enables industry leading levels of performance and integration, together with the lowest power consumption, and is ideal for deployment across multiple product segments.”
“The Jupiter SL869 V2 was designed to help developers looking for a quick and painless design-in experience creating geo-location aware products, particularly battery-powered ones,” said Taneli Tuurnala, Vice President, Head of GNSS Division at Telit Wireless Solutions.
“This exceptional and easy-to-use receiver module marks the start of our partnership with MediaTek and will accelerate our global engagement with vertical application areas such as fleet management systems, GNSS-assisted road tolling, wearable technology, in-car navigation, telematics, personal monitors, to name a few.”
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Berg Insight says Europe risks failing to meet 2020 smart metering targets
According to a new report from the research firm Berg Insight, Europe is likely to fail in meeting the target of covering 80 percent of the electricity customers with smart meters by 2020.
Germany’s decision not to deploy smart meters and delays in the rollouts in a number of countries including France will result in a penetration rate in the range of 60–70 percent by the end of this decade. While lower than anticipated when the EU first announced its energy efficiency goals for the 2010s, the rate of adoption is nevertheless impressive. Berg Insight forecasts that the installed base of smart electricity meters will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 18.5 percent in the next six years from 61.5 million units at the end of 2013 to 170.1 million units in 2019.
Tobias Ryberg, Senior Analyst and author of the report, says:
“Until 2019, more than 100 million European households are set to receive intelligent metering devices, capable of communicating with smart grids.”
Berg Insight’s projections are based on the current official timeframe for smart meter rollouts in the EU member states. As Ryberg points out, there is however a significant risk that some of the projects will be further delayed. The process of defining functional and technical requirements for the new solution in a manner that satisfies the various stakeholders involved has many potential pitfalls, ranging from technical issues to financing and public opinion outbreaks. Smart meters are easily perceived by consumers as driving costs and potentially threatening privacy. Berg Insight believes that the best approach for addressing these issues is for the governments to step in and establish independent platforms for smart metering, as well as other smart grid applications, which are trusted, neutral and jointly financed by the stakeholders for whom they create benefits.
“Smarter grids require smarter regulations that create a better balance between the public good and the interest of the various players in the post-unbundling energy value-chain”, says Mr. Ryberg.
Download report brochure: Smart Metering in Europe
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