Boston, MA 06/19/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:VOD) on June 16, 2014 reported that it would buy an Italian car electronics manufacturer for $197 million (145 million euros). It would do so in order to get ahead in the industrial race to connect more products to the internet and balance the core mobile phone business.
Demand Of Machine To Machine Communications:
The telecom as well as technology firms are looking to get into the demand of M2M (Machine to Machine) communications and efficiently lessen the daily tasks. Vehicle manufacturing industry is at the front position in the latest business as the manufacturers looking forward to installing modern features as navigation aids, playing audio books, streaming music, as well as security improvements inside the vehicle. Only about 10% of the vehicles are equipped with built-in connectivity to the internet. Agreeing with Machine Research, the figure is expected to rise 90% or more by the end of 2020. Machine Research is a British consulting firm.
Vodafone To Buy Cobra:
Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:VOD) on Monday, June 16, 2014 announced that the company had agreed to own Cobra Automotive Technologies. The Cobra Automotive Company provides products in order to improve telecommunications, car security, and vehicle tracking facility for the automotive, as well as the insurance business. Erik Brenneis, Director of M2M at Vodafone, stated that the blending of Cobra and Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:VOD) will give birth to a new global provider of connected vehicle service.
Prospective Business For Other Operators:
In the M2M industry, other mobile operators have also shown interest as the businesses are going through sluggish growth pace in this competitive market. The largest wireless carrier, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), in the year 2012 spent $612 million in cash to own HUGHES Telematics Inc (OTCBB:HUTC). HUGHES provides products on GPS tracking, security features and communications for vehicles. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) also unveiled its CarPlay technology at the beginning of 2014.
