According to a Micromarket Monitor study, the Latin-American IoT and M2M markets can be expected to grow to grow from $14.2 billion in 2013 to $44.4 billion by 2019, at a CAGR of 19.9 percent over that period. We're about half way through, and the numbers are trending in the right direction. Meanwhile, all of the development seems to be driven by new innovations in infrastructure technology, especially in terms of municipal services, automated and self-controlled appliances and smart transportation implementations.
The Internet of Things network of networks is a central cog in the future Internet, manufacturing and consumer living spaces, and the Latin and South American companies and governments are working together to develop network infrastructure with self-configuring capabilities, based on interoperable and standard communication protocols. To accomplish all of the region's lofty goals, of course, solution will need to incorporate advanced M2M communication technology to enable industrial machines at the heart of the infrastructure to communicate directly with one another, using wired and wireless networks.
A large number of mobile operators in the regions south of the U.S. border are offering M2M services, from simple device connectivity solutions to more complex customized enterprise solutions. For a wide range of vertical industries, these next-generation solutions will help fuel their growth, and the advancement of the IOT and M2M markets.
It's not just the carriers, or the consumer OEMs, that are getting going in the Latin American IoT. Honeywell (News - Alert) recently announced that it will execute two new regional smart grid projects in Mexico for the country’s federal electricity company, Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE). Honeywell will manage the smart grid initiatives through its Smart Energy business, which will deploy more than 200,000 smart electricity meters, in addition to communications devices and software analytics tools, in seven cities in the east and southeast regions of Mexico.
The project will reduce costs and enhance services by minimizing electricity losses across the utility’s transmission network and more quickly identify and respond to power outages. CFE is the largest utility in the Central American and Caribbean regions, with more than 35 million customers. It is currently in the middle of replacing outdated energy transmission infrastructure and metering equipment with modern technology in order to incorporate remote monitoring capabilities, outage detection and other IoT solutions.
The Latin American IoT industry is among the fastest-growing geographical regions for the industry. Recognizing that, the upcoming IoT Evolution Expo will feature specific tie-ins and partners tailored to the south of the border IoT industry.