Vodafone to launch smart metering project in Germany

Vodafone is the latest major operator to test the waters of the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) space, teaming with network vendor Alcatel-Lucent on a smart metering project in Germany targeting the energy supplier space.
A statement from Alcatel-Lucent notes that the tieup will help make “smarter use of energy by enabling consumers to access real-time information about their energy usage and make more informed decisions about their energy consumption of electricity, gas and water… The smart metering managed service will enable German utilities to adhere to recent and forthcoming European Union rules and will be implemented for the first time by Stadtwerke Pasewalk, a municipal utility that operates in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.” The German subsidiaries of Vodafone and Alcatel-Lucent stated that they intend to expand beyond the energy supplier market and are working on smart metering solutions for the healthcare field, specifically in patient monitoring or for applications in the development of electric cars.
T-Mobile in September announced a European alliance with M2M specialist Sierra Wireless, which followed a US deal in April that saw T-Mobile USA team with smart power grid company Echelon to link smart meters to utilities. In July, Verizon Wireless announced a joint-venture with Qualcomm to develop M2M products, while AT&T has a deal in place with M2M firm, Jasper Wireless. Another US mobile operator, Sprint Nextel, has formed an alliance with M2M DataSmart to help companies wanting to use Sprint's mobile broadband network for M2M deployments.


source: GSMA MBB