German operator group Deutsche Telekom has announced an M2M deal with Swiss cargo monitoring service provider Arviem.

The “nearly double-digit million-euro” deal will offer customers a real-time monitoring solution for freight consignments.

As part of the partnership Deutsche Telekom is providing both the hardware and the SIM cards. The software solution that evaluates the data collected comes from Arviem. The operator said that in the next stage of the agreement Deutsche Telekom will be offering a complete, single-source service, including the software.

Customers can book the solution for a fixed price per consignment, so major investments are not required, the group added, and the business model also makes companies more flexible because they can fit out individual containers or even individual consignments on demand, according to Deutsche Telekom.

“The solution itself – and not just the model – is flexible,” the firm said in a statement. “As the tracking device is not built into the container, the customer can attach it to the outside of the box himself at any time. The device incorporates several sensors that record ambient conditions such as temperature, humidity or vibrations.”

The system also localises the container’s position to within 30 meters by GPS. Each customer specifies in advance which events they want to be informed of – such as whether his container has been opened in shipping. The M2M solution relays the data required via the mobile network and the software then processes the information and sends it to the customer by email or on a web-based dashboard.

Deutsche Telecom is currently among Europe’s M2M market leaders, according to Informa’s Cellular M2M Tracker.  By the end of June 2013, Informa forecast  it will sit second to China Mobile in the global M2M market.

Jürgen Hase, head of DT’s M2M Competence Centre told Telecoms.com in January 2013: “If you look at the requirements that are coming up from the automotive sector, the energy and health sectors, you’re going to have to add many additional features and you have to build them in your own way.

“There is no other option; especially if you’re talking about full integration with your network. If you want to add additional services around security, cloud and quality management you have to have your own solution.”