Telefónica Does M2M Deal in Turkey

MADRID -- Telefónica, through its Telefónica Digital unit, and the Turkish mobile operator Avea, part of Turk Telekom group, have signed an agreement through which the two companies will develop business opportunities in the M2M (machine-to-machine) sector. The alliance covers technological cooperation, as well as the development of joint commercial and marketing endeavours. This will allow them to create economies of scale, with significant cost reductions, and obtain new sources of income thanks to the opening of new markets.

As regards commercial initiatives, the two companies will unite their efforts to develop joint marketing and market analysis strategies and to offer solutions in different geographical regions through the provision of a single SIM card.

The scope of the agreement also covers the development of services in novel fields such as transportation, smart cities, home automation,energy efficiency, mobile healthcare and industry.

Both operators will cooperate to promote open standards and the interoperability of M2M systems at an international level. This collaboration will also extend to the field of research and development of M2M technologies and to the joint certification of devices.

Telefónica SA (NYSE: TEF)