The GSMA and Huawei have joined forces to help the mobile industry realise the huge potential market for consumer and industrial goods that can connect to 3G mobile networks. Huawei has joined the GSMA’s Embedded Mobile initiative, which will initially focus on bringing the benefits of continuous mobile connectivity to the consumer electronics, clean energy, healthcare, transport and utilities sectors.


Devices with embedded mobile connections can automatically exchange images, information and other data with mobile phones, computers or the Internet, enabling people, businesses and society as a whole to function more efficiently and effectively. The Embedded Mobile initiative is being led by KTF, Rogers Wireless, Smart, Softbank, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telstra and Vodafone. The GSMA will bring other operators, equipment suppliers and manufacturers of consumer and industrial goods into the Embedded Mobile initiative.

“Our ultimate goal is that every machine, device, object will have broadband mobile connectivity. Everything around us will be using mobile networks to exchange information with each other and with the Internet,” said Rob Conway, CEO and Member of the Board of the GSMA. “There are many possible applications: Connected cameras could automatically upload photos to Web sites, cars could regularly send detailed performance information to mechanics, while sensors could transmit emissions data direct to computer systems monitoring the environment.”

The initiative endeavours to aid equipment suppliers to achieve greater economies of scale in order to bring down the prices of 3G modules that can be embedded in cars, cameras, health monitoring devices, environmental sensors, energy meters and many other machines. This work will complement and expand the existing market for embedding mobile connections into machines.

One of the first priorities will be to develop a common application programming interface (API) that consumer goods manufacturers will be able to use to make their products compatible with many different 3G mobile networks.

“We are very glad to work with the GSMA to develop the new commercial applications for mobile broadband. Based on our great success with mobile broadband terminals, we have no doubt that this collaboration will drive further development of the industry,” said Edward Chen, CEO of Huawei Communication Technologies. “Huawei has shipped more than 20 million sets of mobile broadband terminals and will continue to play an important role in the future products and solutions for the module market.”

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