The M2M (machine-to-machine, aka ‘Internet of Things’) market is growing at a rate of 15 – 30 per cent per annum, according to the latest research from the analyst, Berg Insight.
Among the mobile operators that officially report M2M subscriber statistics on a quarterly basis, AT&T reported the highest figure in Q1, 2012 of 13.3m, up 25 per cent year-on-year. Vodafone reported 7.8 million M2M subscribers at the end of the financial year ending March 2012, up 47 per cent from the previous year.
The actual subscriber base was higher, however, as the figure excludes some devices in regional subsidiaries that are not connected to the group’s centralised M2M platform. The Japanese operators NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank recorded year-on-year growth rates in the 20 – 35 per cent range, reporting between 1.9m and 2.4m M2M subscribers each, respectively.
The M2M subscriber league table looks like this: 
- AT&T: 13.3m (+25 per cent)
- Vodafone: 7.8m (+47 per cent)
- Sprint: 3m (+15 per cent)
- T-Mobile USA: 2.7m (+29 per cent)
- NTT DoCoMo: 2.4m (+20 per cent)
- KDDI: 2m (+33 per cent)
- Softbank: 1.9m (+36 per cent)
Berg Insight notes that many of the leading global mobile operators do not report M2M subscribers separately. Among these, the analyst estimates that China Mobile has the largest installed base of around 15m, followed by Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Telefónica at around 7 – 9m. T-Mobile USA is the only entity in the Deutsche Telekom group disclosing M2M subscriber data, reporting 2.7m M2M subscribers at the end of Q1, 2012. Other major M2M communication providers in Europe and N. America include Orange, Telenor and Sprint, which had approximately 3 – 4m M2M subscribers each.
There’s more information here.
