About 90 percent of the devices now in certification process for the Verizon Wireless network are intended to be used for "machine to machine" communication, not traditional voice or mobile data, reports Unstrung. That includes sensors, tracking devices, temperature monitors, and other devices of an "instrumentation" sort. The first two devices already approved are a storage tank-monitoring device from and a prisoner-tracking electronic ankle bracelet, Verizon VP Tony Lewis says.
Other devices close to final certification are a wireless router for the insurance industry and a $69 speech and texting device. Verizon thinks the reason is simply that there has been pent-up demand for such devices, but up to this point would-be providers likely have been deterred by uncertainty.
"The promise of 'machine talking to machine' was always there, but the question for vendors was 'what network' and how to get on it quickly and cheaply," notes Lewis. In-home sensors and health care-related products, as well as in-home sensors for heat regulation, energy mangement or security are obvious areas of opportunity as well.
Lewis argues that Verizon's open network plan now offers vendors a straightforward and affordable way to do so.
That's one reason some observers and Verizon itself now believe "mobile penetration" ultimately could climb to the multiple hundreds of percent range, though current U.S. penetration is under 100 percent.
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