As communication and processing capabilities are increasingly
being built into everyday-objects and devices, more and more of
these objects are becoming connected and on-line ("connected
objects") and can therefore be remotely controlled and monitored. A
few examples of use cases include: domestic monitoring and alarm
notification systems, remote monitoring and control of fish farms,
location tracking and movement detection of sheep, automatic and
remote reading of domestic electricity meters (AMR), fleet
management, telematics, continuous temperature monitoring and
location tracking for perishable food, and direct notification to
emergency services in case of a car accident ("eCall").
The current market situation is marked by standalone solutions
which do not interact or exchange information. Telenor's vision is
to enable innovation and the true "Internet of things" by allowing
objects to communicate and exchange information freely - so that
any end-user application can communicate with any object without
the need for new investments. A fundamental pillar of this vision
is openness to allow innovation and Telenor will actively seek
partners and make the infrastructure and platform available to
realise this.
In 2008, Telenor launched a global unit - Telenor Connexion -
which provides global connectivity services tailored for M2M
applications inside and outside of Telenor's existing footprint.
The launch of Telenor Objects is an expansion of Telenor's focus on
the M2M (Connected Objects) market and will provide enablement and
value added services for all kinds of M2M applications irrespective
of network technology and provider.
Telenor Objects is founded on existing business and research
activities within Telenor and is a merger between Telenor Iris
(which offer RFID based asset management) and parts of the
Connected Objects team from Telenor R&I.