Registrations for ETSI's 2010 Machine-to-Machine Workshop exceed expectations

Sept. 8, 2010 - PRLog -- ETSI's first Machine-to-Machine (M2M) standards workshop, scheduled for 19 to 20 October, looks set to be a huge success, with more than 130 delegates already registered. This high degree of interest reflects the enormous potential that is foreseen for M2M applications and technologies.

Among the delegates already registered are representatives from the world's major telecommunication manufacturers and network operators, security companies, regulators, universities and research institutes. The workshop will present the current status of Machine-to-Machine standards work, both in ETSI and in other standards bodies, and will examine how M2M capabilities will be one stepping stone amongst several toward the "Internet of Things". An important facet will be to identify additional needs from the impacted industrial and academic segments for the further standardisation of M2M communications.

Machine-to-Machine can be loosely defined as any communication without (or with only limited) human intervention: however, behind this very generic term there are a large number of potential application areas (healthcare, transportation, utilities, security. manufacturing…) and enabling technologies (IP, RFID, sensor networks, home networks, smart metering…). The expectation is a future where billions of devices of any kind are connected to each other and share data in real time: these may include sensors that are integrated in our cars, our homes, even our own bodies, as well as meters that manage how much energy we consume. Many of the topics currently being researched will also have relevance for the evolution of fixed and mobile telecommunication networks.

The true variety of applications that will arise is still hard to imagine, and the business cases and revenue potentials have yet to be established. There is no doubt, however, that M2M is a sector in which massive growth will occur. Among the diverse applications to be presented at the workshop will be the use of M2M in support of rural farming in India and its potential in fleet management systems.

The standards work of ETSI's M2M Technical Committee is reaching an advanced stage, and many network operators are encouraging a first release of M2M standards by early 2011. The committee is currently finalising the architecture for the service platform that will enable the integration of multiple vertical M2M applications. In addition, the group is looking to the utilities and end users to seek to identify concretely which future trends may drive the development of M2M service offerings and networks.

About ETSI's Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Workshop

ETSI's 2010 Machine-to-Machine Workshop will take place in the Agora, Sophia Antipolis, southern France, on 19 and 20 October 2010.  It is a technically-oriented event and is open to all, free of charge. Registration is mandatory.

For further information, including the agenda and speakers' profiles, please visit:
http://www.etsi.org/M2MWORKSHOP

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About ETSI

ETSI produces globally-applicable ICT standards, including fixed, mobile, radio, converged, aeronautical, broadcast and IP technologies. An independent, not-for-profit association, ETSI's 740 member companies come from 62 countries worldwide.