The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had been promising for many years to make a decision on a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) mandate in the US before the end of 2013. It missed that deadline, but on February 3^rd 2014 it announced it will soon start work on “….a regulatory proposal that would require V2V devices in new vehicles in a future year…”.  Work on legislation will start following the publication in the next coming weeks of a research report summarizing findings of the V2V trial that took place in Ann Arbor in 2013 with close to 3000 vehicles involved.   The full text of the press release can be found here.

On January 6, 2014, China's Ministry of Industry and Information (MIIT) issued a new policy to further open its value-added telecommunications services (VAS) to foreign investors. The enterprises that operate the regulated VAS business should register in Shanghai's free trade zone (FTZ), and the service facilities should also locate in the area. The relaxed foreign ownership currently only applies to the enterprises that meet the requirements.

It is interesting to note the similarities between how Wi-Fi and cellular technologies are developing.  In a very general, rough way, the following are comparable:

One of the leading M2M/IoT verticals, Smart Home is a field that we at ABI Research are covering extensively under our dedicated research service. My colleagues who specialize in the subject matter are currently working hard to analyze what Google’s acquisition of Nest, for no less than US$3.2 billion, will mean for the sector’s market dynamics. Meanwhile, I’ll give in the following my take on what it may mean for Google itself, as well as its IoT strategy.

Much is written about Softbank/Sprint acquiring T-Mobile.  The scale economies suggested by the Rule of Three and Four support this move, but there are a lot of obstacles in the way.  Ignoring the serious political implications of a telcom merger like this, we can look at one of the measures the DoJ uses to assess these proposals, the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI).  The failed AT&T acquisition of T-Mobile meant an HHI = 3208.  For this proposal, HHI = 3162, is also troubling.  Previously, AT&T/T-Mobile meant a super-sized firm, while the Sprint/T-Mobile speculation presents the market with a third and strong competitor. 

I didn’t attend the show myself this year, but for what I’ve followed the media coverage and observations from my fellow ABIers who have been at the event, it would seem that the Internet of Things has indeed been at the epicentre of CES 2014. This isn't too surprising. A quick glimpse of Google Trends, for example, confirms that the IoT reached such a level of buzz in 2013 that it’s evidently starting to show up also in the consumer space.

One of the ending year's most interesting IoT news came toward the very end of it, with PTC announcing in the evening of the 30th that it would acquire ThingWorx for approx. US$112 million. That is a hefty price tag for an early-stage start-up that over the next 12 months is expected to bring in to PTC about $10m in new revenues. As such, it's a strong endorsement of, on one hand, the long-term potential of ThingWorx's technology and, on the other hand, the growth trajectory of the overall IoT space. The physical world is being connected at a dramatic speed, and that is creating massive opportunities for companies that can make themselves needed - or even critical - in the emerging value chain. 

On December 22, 2013, China Mobile finally inked contract with Apple to sell iPhone handset devices in China. As part of the agreement, iphone 5s and 5c will be available from China Mobile's retail stores as well as Apple retail stores across mainland China from January 17, 2014.