Ctrack selects u-blox GPS and cellular modules for fleet management solutions
Turnkey vehicle recovery and monitoring systems deployed on 6 continents.
Ctrack, a division of South Africa based Digicore with over 1000 employees, is a world-leading provider of fleet management and vehicle tracking solutions. For their products, the company has selected Swiss u-blox as their strategic partner for embedded GPS and cellular technology.
Based on u-blox’ high-performance NEO line of GPS and LEON / LISA 2G and 3G module series, Ctrack’s Insure, Secure and Lite vehicle management systems provide 24/7 internet-based surveillance capabilities including real-time and historical positional overview, automatic alerts in the case of unauthorized vehicle movement or tampering, area alerts, SARS-compliant logbook and optional remote panic button.
Mark Rousseau, Ctrack COO, said:
“With over 10 vehicles stolen per hour in South Africa alone, our vehicle tracking systems provide security and peace of mind to fleet managers around the world by preventing theft and enabling recovery.”
“In addition, our products increase operational efficiency, driver productivity and safety. For these mission-critical features, we only select components with the highest reliability on the market. For GPS positioning and cellular connectivity, we depend on u-blox.”
Ctrack partners with global cellular providers such as Vodafone, MTN, and Celcom to ensure real-time visibility of vehicles and systems being tracked. Ctrack uses mapping applications such as Google, HERE maps and Tom Tom maps, giving customers a choice of normal, terrain and satellite views in its software applications.
“u-blox has a long history as the number one supplier of satellite positioning and embedded cellular communication modules in Africa,” said Jennifer Nkire, Area Sales Manager for u-blox,
“Our partnership with Ctrack is a result of our total commitment to provide them with the best products and technical support available. We are proud to be an integral part of their fleet management solutions.”
For more information about Ctrack, visit www.ctrack.com
For more information about u-blox’ positioning and cellular components, visit www.u-blox.com
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Telit M2M Technology to Help Turtles and Tourism on North Carolina Coast
The Telit HE910 module will communicate nest temperature and movement data to more accurately predict hatching of threatened and endangered sea turtles on popular tourist beaches.
Telit Wireless Solutions, a global provider of high-quality machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions, products and services, today announced that Turtle Sense, a project designed to accurately predict when sea turtles hatch and emerge from their nests, will integrate Telit HE910 modules to communicate sensor data with the ultimate goal of protecting both the threatened and endangered sea turtles and the area’s critical tourism industry. The Turtle Sense technology was developed by Nerds-Without-Borders an organization that believes thoughtful people, acting without self-interest and working collaborative can solve many of the world’s problems.
Because coastal economies rely heavily on tourism from public access to beaches, business and environmental interests must balance the popularity of coastal towns with requirements for the preservation of sea turtle nesting areas prescribed in The Endangered Species Act.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore is located off the North Carolina coast. Nesting female sea turtles return to the beaches where they were born to lay their eggs. Months later, tiny turtles struggle out of their shells, out of their nest, and move toward the ocean. Today, when a sea turtle nest is found on the beach, a small enclosure is built around the nest to keep pedestrians and vehicles away. About 50 to 55 days later, the nest closure is expanded, often closing the beach to vehicular traffic. Currently there is no reliable way to predict when the tiny turtles will emerge from their nests near the dune line and parade to the surf. As a result, closures sometimes last more than a month.
Eric Kaplan, founder of the non-profit Hatteras Island Ocean Center and chairman of a technology company, has proposed a solution based on M2M communications technology that will help predict the hatching and emergence events and, in turn, minimize the number of days when large portions of the beach are blocked. First generation technology was tested in 2013 on four nests. This summer about 20 nests will be monitored using second generation technology.
The design is based on Telit’s HE910 modules, which are incorporated in Janus plug-in Terminus modems. Cable connections are made to sensors that are buried in the nests: they measure temperature and movement. The sensors are controlled by a microprocessor, which communicates with a second microprocessor on the modem, which in turn transfers the sensor data to the HE910, ultimately transmitting it to the cloud over the m2mAIR Mobile cellular network.
In order to extend battery life throughout the nesting, incubation and hatching period, transmission timing starts slow and intermittent and increases in frequency once activity is reported.
National Park Service wildlife biologist Britta Muiznieks, said:
“Through the use of this innovative technology, Cape Hatteras National Seashore is hoping to be able to accurately predict sea turtle hatching and emergence.”
“Previous studies have been unsuccessful on predicting these events with reliable accuracy.”
In addition to HE910 HSPA+ modules, Turtle Sense is communicating over the Telit m2mAIR Mobile network – truly taking advantage of the Telit One Stop. One Shop.
“Telit has a long-standing tradition of collaborating with organizations like Hatteras Island Ocean Center,” said Mike Ueland, President of Telit Americas.
“Along with products and technical assistance, Telit also looks for ways to create awareness for projects like this innovative, environmentally-conscious solution.”
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FCC Approves First Machine-To-Machine Cell Signal Booster
SureCall, a leading maker of cell phone signal boosters, announced recently that its M2M, or machine-to-machine, booster designed for use throughout many industries that use cellular modems to transmit data, has received FCC certification under the commission’s new regulatory and technical standards.
The SureCall M2M is the industry’s first machine-to-machine booster to receive the commission’s approval. SureCall named the booster M2M to show customers that its newest certified device is dedicated to the M2M industry.
Hongtao Zhan, SureCall’s founder and CEO said:
“The use of machine-to-machine, or M2M, boosters is rapidly expanding into new industries. Being the first to receive approval for an M2M booster is certainly a great advantage for our company, but more importantly it’s beneficial for all M2M customers whose machines rely on boosters to consistently communicate data.”
According to Zhan, M2M boosters are being used increasingly in healthcare, finance, oil & gas, renewable energy, defense and military, gaming and casinos, and digital signage.
SureCall’s M2M (model no., SC-SoloI-15) supports 2G and 3G frequencies for all major carriers and delivers a maximum gain of 15dB. It offers a compact design that integrates easily into just about any device enclosure, and its industrial-grade, metal case can withstand the rigors of even the most demanding operating environments, including temperatures ranging from -4˚ to +150˚ Fahrenheit.
The M2M comes in a kit that includes everything needed for a simple and reliable installation: The booster, a USB AC power supply, an RG58 extension cable, an antenna, mounting hardware and the user manual.
Zhan said he expects the M2M to begin shipping as soon as May 1, 2014.
Source: fieldtechnologiesonline.com
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Aeris Raises the Bar for M2M and IoT Support Services, Removing a Key Roadblock to Industry Growth
Infinity Support™ Offerings Set a New Industry Benchmark with 30 Minute Average Response Time.
Aeris Communications, the Made for Machines™ technology and service provider, today announced the introduction of Infinity Support™. Building on over a decade of experience in the M2M and IoT market, servicing millions of devices across all major industries and geographies, Aeris has developed Infinity Support to provide the critical capabilities that customers need to achieve breakthrough performance in operational efficiency and solution uptime.
Per a recent survey of M2M connectivity users published by Infonetics Research, service and support capabilities are a critical consideration in the selection of an M2M service provider, with 71% of respondents rating it as “very important.” Unfortunately, most M2M service providers are ill-equipped to rise to the challenge. Accustomed to the needs of the consumer handset market, typical mobile operators do not have processes and tools optimized for servicing M2M deployments, where issues can be a complex mix of network, application, and device interplay. The problem is exacerbated by the inability of the remote machine to communicate key debugging information, thereby placing tremendous importance on the underlying tools and technology to provide critical and timely information to quickly debug issues. The result of substandard support can be devastating for M2M deployments, resulting in increased downtime, reduced operational efficiency, and lost profitability.
“Taking the complexity out of M2M is an important aspect to accelerating service adoption,” says Godfrey Chua, directing analyst, M2M and IoT at Infonetics Research.
“Heightened attention to and innovative approaches to customer service and support as well as the development of cutting-edge management tools is a critical aspect of making this happen.”
Infinity Support meets the challenge head-on. Offered in three packages, Infinity Support includes full 24/7 support, thirty minute response time, and proactive monitoring and issue identification. Staffed by M2M experts and powered by Aeris’ proprietary and patented Made for Machines™ technology stack, Infinity Support sets a new standard in the industry, as reflected in Aeris’ Five Promises of customer support.
Responsiveness: When problems occur, we will resolve them as quickly as possible, often 5-10x faster than our competitors.
Commitment: Customer needs come first – we won’t stop until they’re satisfied.
Transparency: We communicate with you with honesty and openness – treating you as we want to be treated.
Proactiveness: We’re constantly solving problems before they become our customer’s problems.
Empowerment: Knowledge is power and we don’t hold anything back.
John Molise, vice president of operations, Aeris, says:
“Infinity Support can’t be boiled down to a service level agreement. It’s much more than that. It embodies an attitude, culture, and passion that informs everything that we do. As the name suggests, Infinity Support has no end: we won’t stop until our customers are satisfied.”
Customer Quotes :
Charles Koch, Large Project Leader for HondaLink at American Honda Motor Co. Inc.
“Aeris provided us with a set of customized capabilities that we could not get from traditional wireless carriers. Their understanding of the unique requirements of the automotive market has helped us implement an optimized communications system for our customers.”
Mike Meall, Field Application Engineer, Sema Connect
“Since the start of our deployment with Aeris, I continue to be impressed by the level of commitment coming from the Aeris support team. Both the technical support and account manager have put in a lot of effort to ensure that my M2M program is going the way I want it to.”
Jason Ray, Vice President of Product Development, SimplyHome
“First and foremost, the technical needs we have cannot be met by any other M2M provider. On top of that, everyone at Aeris is proactive with their assistance throughout our development process. When we need guidance on decision-making, Aeris provides us with expert insight that is crucial to our business success.”
Li Wang, Senior Project Manager, GTX
“AerPort — the intelligent device management portal created by Aeris — has been a cornerstone to the success of GTX Corp. I have used AerPort every day since its release, and so far it has been one of the best automated portals that I have encountered. In addition, the support team at Aeris continues to set a high-standard in providing timely, high-quality and professional support. I am comforted knowing that our infrastructure can depend on Aeris to provide reliable and responsive support for our critical operations.”
For more information on the Aeris customer commitment, please visit: http://www.aeris.com/infinity-support.
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Laipac S911 Lola Enhances Quality of Life for the Elderly and Infirm with Help from Telit Wireless Solutions
The Telit GE865 cellular module and Jupiter JF2 positioning module deliver just-in-time emergency response, plus peace of mind for children of aging parents and other caretakers.
Telit Wireless Solutions, a global provider of high-quality machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions, products and services, today announced that the Laipac S911 Lola personal locator integrates Jupiter JF2 and GE865 modules to provide instant location and two-way voice communications for emergency response to the elderly – ultimately allowing them to live at home longer and enhancing quality of life.
With current advances in medical technology, the global population is living longer – creating a sandwich generation of adults caring for aging parents as well as children. In response, Laipac, longtime experts in location devices for fleet management, law enforcement and child safety identified an opportunity to facilitate extended elder autonomy by applying M2M technology from Telit to create a compact, easy-to-use device capable of initiating instant two-way communications at the touch of a button, pinpoint location in the event of an emergency, and even detect unexpected movement like falls. The unit is small enough to wear as an unobtrusive pendant, reducing the need for an injured person to search and find it across the room.
The small size of the Telit GE865 cellular module makes it a perfect fit for the Lola device. It offers quad-band GSM/GPRS connectivity and very low power consumption – so the Lola device can be worn all day on a single charge. The Jupiter JF2 GNSS module is also a super compact, low power device providing enhanced positioning for the accuracy users demand in the event of an emergency.
The S911 Lola is available worldwide through a variety of outlets including, in some regions, from local carriers, through the online stores of multiple “big box” retailers as well as direct from Laipac. For less than $20/month, users enjoy unlimited tracking, 100 minutes of voice and full access to LocationNow, the robust Laipac online tracking platform.
“Due to the growing needs for innovative solutions to elder care issues, we expect Lola sales to grow significantly this year,” said Diego Lai, Co-founder of Laipac.
“Thanks to the technology and support from Telit, we are able to offer the perfect compact, affordable and easy-to-use solution to address this unique need.”
“Telit is proud to be a part of M2M technology-based solutions that improve quality of life across all kinds of demographics,” said Mike Ueland, President of Telit Americas. “Laipac is no exception.”
“The Lola device is ideal for elder care, but also a great business enabler in situations involving lone workers. It even improves personal safety for children, extreme athletes and a host of other potential users.”
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BlackBerry could become a major M2M player, says CEO John Chen
BlackBerry CEO John Chen says his plan for a turnaround includes a yet-to-be revealed machine-to-machine offering that he says will be a “major play”.
Chen yesterday talked to Vinod Mahanta of The Economic Times about his ongoing turnaround of the beleaguered device maker. He reiterated his dominant themes of late; that BlackBerry must focus on its core strengths of enterprise and security. But he also revealed that the company is working on a longer plan that goes beyond simply returning the company to profitability, which he expects will happen next year.
“…a turnaround isn’t just about being cash flow positive or creating a near-term strategy”, he said. “It’s thinking long-term and identifying what will help us leapfrog current trends and to be a leader and not a follower.”
“We also see long-term value in BlackBerry and in five years, we expect to have a major play in the M2M space. BlackBerry is well positioned to lead this charge as it looks to unite people and machines across the Internet of Things – from smartphones to in-vehicle telematics system ..”
BlackBerry’s QNX, which it acquired in 2010 from Harman International is already the backbone of its BlackBerry 10 platform and a world leader in the connected car space. Its customers include Porsche, BMW, Saab, Audi and Acura.
But the company also plays in other markets, including the medical device field, where its OS is used in retinal scanning devices, lasers for eye surgery and diagnostic equipment. GE uses QNX to control turbines, Caterpillar for surface mine control systems. QNX also powers nuclear power plants for Westinghouse and Atomic Energy of Canada.
Unlike the hyper competitive mobile space, M2M might offer BlackBerry a place where it has a lot of runway. According to research firm Markets and Markets, the worldwide M2M market is expected to reach $85.96 billion by 2017, a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 26.1% between 2012 to 2017. Cisco says the number of connected devices exceeded the world population by late 2012 and will rise to 15 billion by 2015 and 40 billion by 2020.
Source: cantechletter.com
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Novatel Wireless Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2014 Financial Results
Novatel Wireless, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVTL), a leading provider of intelligent wireless solutions, announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014.
++ Reports M2M revenue of $12.1 million, a sequential increase of approximately 45%
++ Makes progress on realignment of operational and go-to-market strategy in Mobile Computing
++ Completed additional restructuring initiatives expected to achieve approximately $10 million in annualized cost savings
Revenue in the first quarter was $48.3 million.
GAAP net loss in the quarter was $9.0 million, or $(0.26) per share.
On a non-GAAP basis, net loss for the quarter was $7.1 million, or $(0.21) per share.
Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter was a loss of $5.2 million. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures is included in the accompanying tables.
Peter Leparulo, CEO of Novatel Wireless, said:
“During the first quarter, we continued to make solid progress in our M2M business, growing sequential revenue by approximately 45%, launching with new customers, advancing major prospects by integrating with their platforms, and building our sales pipeline.”
“Our targeted vertical approach in M2M, our investments in product innovation, sales, and integration are beginning to produce meaningful results. We are at the center of what we believe are high growth verticals, have the right products and sales and service infrastructure in place, and continue to execute on our high impact growth initiatives.”
“In mobile computing, we made progress on our strategy to retrench this business, moving it toward a more targeted product development approach with a more variable operating model. Relatedly, we furthered our restructuring initiatives in the quarter, which we expect to yield annualized cost savings of approximately $10 million beginning in the second quarter.
Mobile computing revenue in the quarter was largely driven by sales of our MiFi 5510, which would have been an even larger contributor but was muted by a supply chain component shortage.”
“As we move through 2014, we have a substantial, growing pipeline of opportunities in M2M. We will be expanding our partner relationships as we deepen our presence in our targeted verticals.
In mobile computing, we will begin to see our targeted channel approach play out as we focus our development investments on products that we are confident will achieve our required returns, while certain products currently in the channel will come to the end or the long-tail of their planned life cycle. Beyond that, we continue to see opportunities in mobile computing which we will selectively evaluate with our new variable cost model.
We have launch plans for a carrier aggregation product release in the second half of the year, as well as other opportunities we are pursuing for 2015, all of which meet our rigid criteria for returns on our development investments.
Lastly, we will continue to evaluate our cost structure, commensurate with our opportunities, and remain focused on returning to profitability,” concluded Leparulo.
Second Quarter 2014 Business Outlook
The following statements are forward-looking and actual results may differ materially. Please see the section titled, “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” at the end of this press release. A more detailed description of risks related to our business is included in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Our guidance for the second quarter of 2014 reflects current business indicators and expectations as of the date of this release. All figures are approximations based on management’s beliefs and assumptions as of the date of this release.
Second Quarter 2014
Total Revenue
$37 – $43 million
Mobile Computing Revenue
$27 – $32 million
M2M Revenue
$10 – $11 million
Non-GAAP Gross Margin
21% – 23%
Non-GAAP EPS
$(0.22) – $(0.15)
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GSMA Welcomes Brazilian Government Decision to Reduce Machine-to-Machine Taxation
Appropriate Regulatory Framework Will Allow Developing M2M Market to Flourish.
The GSMA welcomes the Brazilian government’s decision to pass regulation reducing taxation on machine-to-machine (M2M) devices. The move, which was announced by Brazil’s Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo and signed by President Dilma Rousseff, will significantly reduce the SIM card tax on M2M devices, providing a stimulus for operators to develop services, such as smart metering, car tracking or remote health monitoring.
Tom Phillips, Chief Regulatory Officer, GSMA, said:
“President Rouseuff’s decision to reduce this taxation is a significant move to stimulate the growth of M2M services and should be recognised by other markets as a very positive and forward-looking move.”
“M2M is a new market whose growth should be encouraged by government policies of low taxation and light-touch regulation. Countries like Brazil that encourage the growth of M2M services will be the first to benefit from the social, environmental and economic opportunities of this important new sector.”
The decree will cut two fees in the Telecommunications Inspection Fund (FISTEL) – the Installation Inspection Tax (TFI), which is charged when a SIM is first activated and the Operation Inspection Fee (TFF), an annual charge on each active SIM. This equates to a combined reduction of 80 per cent.
There are approximately 8.7 million M2M connections (source: GSMA Intelligence) currently active in Brazil, a figure that is expected to grow exponentially following this decision. The GSMA recently released a report called ‘The Mobile Economy Latin America’ that predicted 84 million M2M connections by 2017.
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NEC and NTT DOCOMO to Conduct Trials of 5G Mobile Communication Technologies
NEC Corporation has reached an agreement with NTT DOCOMO, INC. (NTT DOCOMO) to jointly conduct trials aimed at the practical use of technologies for a 5th-generation mobile communication standard (5G).
5G is a new mobile communication standard representing an advancement in the current 3.9G/4G (LTE/LTE-Advanced) standards currently adopted around the world. 5G is the subject of international research efforts seeking to achieve communications speeds of 10Gbps or greater, enabling higher-definition video transmission and a range of additional benefits. Aiming to launch service in 2020, 5G is also expected to address issues such as increased terminal penetration and the sharp rise in traffic by offering more than one thousand times the capacity of LTE.
“NEC and NTT DOCOMO have a long history together as trusted partners and we are delighted to continue and expand our relationship with this trial of 5G,” said Shunichiro Tejima, executive vice president, NEC Corporation.
“We are confident that NEC will contribute to the early establishment of 5G technology by leveraging our Small Cell and SDN technology and know-how.”
In 2020 and beyond, when the high speed and high capacity of 5G is expected to be implemented, mobile communication-based ICT is forecast to be applied throughout a diverse range of services.
In this climate, 5G technologies are expected to be used in a wide range of fields, from public safety (communications in times of disaster and emergency) and M2M (Machine-to-Machine) communications to classrooms and the medical practice.
As part of these trials to realize 5G capability, NEC and NTT DOCOMO aim to verify enhanced time-domain beamforming technologies with a very large number of antennas for
Small Cells.
These technologies are expected to improve Multi User MIMO technology that can cover multiple users simultaneously while reducing interference and enabling 5G advancements that include accelerated communication speeds, improved communication quality and greater capacity.
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Advancing M2M adoption in the healthcare industry is transforming medical and personal health devices, business models and patient engagement
A new report from Machina Research examines the impact that M2M will have on the healthcare sector: the likely adoption, the impact on clinical outcomes, and the implications for the sector.
The global healthcare sector is increasingly turning to machine-to-machine (M2M) technology and platforms to add improved cost efficiency, increase adherence to medical regimens and enhance medical outcomes. As a result of soaring medical costs particularly in the US and other markets, medical facilities are expanding the role of connected devices and sensors in care delivery to offer greater flexibility of chronic disease treatment, reach underserved populations and spark better patient engagement with their healthcare services.
Andy Castonguay, Principal Analyst with Machina Research and author of the new Sector Report: Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Communications in Healthcare 2013-23, remarked:
“In a country like the United States, with healthcare spending nearing 20% of national GDP, M2M technology may well provide the single most promising approach to expanding healthcare services in a cost effective manner.”
“While the cost dynamics of healthcare are a key factor driving innovation in the field, connected health devices and applications are also proving to be a key element in improving patient engagement and health.”
Despite the complexities of the healthcare privacy/security regulations, payment/reimbursement frameworks and medical organizations’ structures, advances in connected medical devices and services offer substantial promise for organizations looking to expand services, reduce costs and improve medical outcomes.
As a result of notable uptake of clinical remote monitoring, connected medical environments, worried well personal health monitoring and improved assisted living monitoring Machina Research forecasts that the installed base of M2M connected devices within the health sector will approach 847 million by 2023.
As illustrated in the chart below, North America will be the largest region for the duration of the forecast reaching 386 million connections by 2023, followed by Europe and Developed Asia Pacific. With this significant growth of connected devices and sensors, the M2M healthcare industry will generate USD90.9 billion in total revenues by 2023, outlined in the figure below, increasing at a CAGR of 17.2% from 2013.
Figure: Global healthcare M2M connections by region, 2013-2023 [Machina Research, 2014]
Source: Machina Research
The report is available as part of the Machina Research Advisory Service.
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