O2 boosts UK M2M offering with smart meter deal

Mobile operator Telefónica O2 UK on Friday signed a deal to extend its partnership with smart meter operations service provider G4S Utility Services as part of its push into M2M provisioning.

A five year agreement will see the provision of up to 1.4 million SIMs, and will provide G4S with global SIM connectivity to support the delivery of services in the energy market.  Telefónica said the contract is one of the largest ever M2M deals in the UK market.

At its peak, Telefónica UK will be rolling out 70,000 SIM’s per month to meet G4S’s requirements. Earlier this week, telecoms.com spoke to head of Telefónica Digital, Matthew Key, who said that M2M would be a main focus of the operator spinoff over the coming months.

On Thursday the carrier unveiled a wide ranging agreement with UAE-based Etisalat whereby the two companies will jointly develop business opportunities in M2M, financial services, cloud computing, eHealth, mobile advertising and OTT communications, including the acquisition of video content, while Etisalat will also participate in Telefónica’s global device procurement process.