M2M communication nodes
November 8, 2011
According to a new report from Pike Research, increased utility adoption of public wireless networks around the world will drive the cumulative shipment of 73 million cellular M2M communication nodes for use in smart grid applications during the period from 2011 through 2020.
The report forecasts that global unit shipments will peak at 10.7 million units annually in 2015, coinciding with the peak in the build out of neighborhood area networks (NANs) for smart meter connectivity, before unit volumes reduce to 8.2 million nodes annually by 2020. Revenue from the sale of cellular communication nodes to utilities will reach $1.9 billion.
In the next 10 years, 3G network technologies including UMTS/HSPA and EV-DO will make up approximately 54% of the total market for cellular M2M node shipments in the smart grid sector. 2G air interface technologies such as GSM/GPRS/EDGE and 1xRTT, despite their age and technological limitations, will capture 25% of the smart grid market. Emerging 4G networks will represent the fastest growing segment of the smart grid market; LTE networks will represent a 19% share of the total utility market between 2011 and 2020, with WiMAX networks capturing 2% of the public carrier market for smart grid applications.
