ABI Research tipped connected car technologies as the biggest IoT opportunity for US operators in the years ahead.

LTE – including standardised low power wide area (LPWA) technologies LTE-M and NB-IoT – is forecast to become the dominant network standard for IoT in the country, ABI noted.

As the US cellular M2M market grows to more than 300 million connections in 2022, ABI indicated devices such as connected cars will be a key segment for operators to focus on.

“Carrier grade support and service is essential for mission-critical enterprise applications. Some of the biggest opportunities and drivers for cellular operators are in telematics and asset tracking: coverage and low latency are the essential requirements for these fast-growing segments,” Kevin McDermott, principal analyst for IoT at ABI Research, explained.

At end-2016, nearly 69 per cent of the 82.65 million cellular connected M2M devices in the country were related to telematics and other transportation applications.

In terms of US operators, AT&T positioned itself as a leader in the connected car space, most recently announcing a new set of trials in collaboration with Qualcomm, Ford and Nokia.

At Mobile World Congress Americas in September Chris Penrose, AT&T’s president of IoT solutions, told Mobile World Live the operator split its connected car business model to bring in additional revenue.

In addition to charging automakers for wholesale connectivity to pull information from the vehicle, conduct over-the-air updates and offer remote services, AT&T can also sell connectivity to consumers to turn their cars into Wi-Fi hotspots.

“We’re making revenue in a lot of different ways,” Penrose said.