Vodafone Joins the Verizon Wireless/ Qualcomm nPhase M2M Alliance

| Feb 19, 2010 | Enterprise Mobility - Europe | Analyst: Kitty Weldon

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Event Summary

February 15, 2010 - Vodafone, Verizon Wireless and nPhase (the JV between Qualcomm and Verizon Wireless for M2M) announce that all three companies are now allied to provide solutions to the M2M market. The initiative will make it easier for Verizon Wireless and Vodafone customers to activate, monitor and pay for devices deployed across both networks and will offer a single point of contact for provisioning devices. It will also enable firms to centrally manage and control rollout of M2M devices across many countries.

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Positive on Vodafone joining the nPhase JV announced by Verizon Wireless and Qualcomm’s nPhase group in August 2009, as the three companies in partnership have a chance at providing what so far has been eluding other carriers offering M2M solutions, namely global connectivity that spans both the U.S. and Europe. This is key for the many potential M2M customers with distribution requirements or operations in both regions, but has generally only been provided with the inherent disincentive of expensive roaming fees; the alternative has been for the customer to have to strike separate contracts with multiple carriers for connectivity.

• Vendor Importance: High to Vodafone, as it is hoping for major success in the M2M market. While it already has a very large wireless footprint in Europe (as well as the Middle East, Africa and Asia), if the U.S. can be added to its M2M footprint in a straightforward manner through the JV, it can provide much better pricing than competitors that do not have the benefit of ownership in a major U.S. mobile provider.

• Market Impact: High on the M2M segment of the enterprise mobility market, as all carriers are very excited about the possibility of gaining significant revenues through M2M applications. Both U.S. and global carriers will be affected by the addition of Vodafone to the nPhase JV, as it makes the alliance a much stronger competitive threat due to its ability to support multinational companies cost-effectively. Still there are other carriers with a strong M2M story and the JV has a few major issues to resolve, such as the incompatible GSM and CDMA networks of Vodafone and Verizon Wireless.

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Current Perspective

Competitive Positives and Concerns

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