Despite the doubts about its appropriateness, LTE technology offers numerous benefits as an M2M communications technology, according to new research from Heavy Reading.

In a new paper, the analyst company claims that LTE can help to reduce operating costs associated with M2M services, and offer a “future proof” alternative to more widely used 2G and 3G systems.

Aiming to expand its business in what looks set to become the world’s largest M2M market, module maker Telit has unveiled two CDMA modules developed specifically for use in China.

The manufacturer’s CE910-SC and DE910-SC modules have been designed for Chinese M2M applications using CDMA network standards and R-UIM card technology.

The number of people using safety and security telematics services is set to quadruple over the next five years, rising about 72 million at the end of 2012 to more than 300 million in 2018, according to a new report from ABI Research.

Although growth is being fuelled by regulatory measures, says the market-research company, carmakers are also responding to the growing demand for telematics services.

Not-for-profit group the Continua Health Alliance has appointed Orange Healthcare’s Elinaz Mahdavy as chair of its European Working Group.

Mahdavy, the European affairs and strategic partnership manager at Orange Healthcare (Paris, France), will take responsibility for Continua’s relations with EU institutions and government entities in Europe.

She takes over from Mario Romao, a senior policy manager at Intel, who will continue to serve as vice chair.

French smart card maker Gemalto is forecasting double-digit sales growth this year, helped by strong demand for its services and products in the United States and Asia, after posting record sales in 2012.

Paris-listed Gemalto (Amsterdam, Netherlands), which makes smart chips for mobile phones and bank payment cards, said sales last year were up 9 percent at 2.24 billion euros ($2.90 billion) driven by its mobile business which accounts for close to half its sales and its smaller Security unit, which makes embedded software for electronic documents such as passports.

EBay Inc shares hit a new low for 2013 on Monday as concern mounted about the impact of a new "digital wallet" fee on the company's PayPal business.

MasterCard Inc (Purchase, NY, USA), one of the largest payment networks, said earlier this year that it plans a new fee for digital wallet operators like PayPal (San Jose, USA) starting in June.

The actual dollar amount PayPal ends up paying may not be that large, analysts say.

Bosch Software Innovation GmbH (Berlin) is well known for its business-process software products – some of which are used to supervise pipeline networks for major energy companies like Gazprom and E.ON. Bosch Software chose CeBIT 2013 to unveil a new, integrated software suite for what it calls the “Internet of Things & Services”.

Australian broadband specialist Netcomm Wireless says it has established a distribution agreement with Synnex Canada aimed at growing its presence in the North American M2M market.

In a statement, the company said the partnership with Synnex Canada, which distributes IT products in the country, would offer “a new choice for Canada’s M2M and end-to-end mobility value-added resellers”.

A part of IT logistics giant Synnex Corporation (Fremont, CA, USA), Synnex Canada praised the deal as one that would strengthen the Canadian resellers it serves.

Fuelling the current momentum in the connected-car market, Telenor Connexion has revealed that Japan’s Fujitsu Ten has become its latest telematics customer.

In a statement published on its website, the M2M subsidiary of Telenor (Fornebu, Norway) said that Fujitsu Ten (Kobe, Japan) would use its “connected service solution” for its Remote Engine Start telematics service – a so-called “aftermarket” product the company plans to deploy overseas.

Fast, efficient mobile payments could be a huge boon to business but companies must ensure customer data is safe and provide users with recourse in case of fraudulent or incorrect billing, the Federal Trade Commission said in a report on Friday.

The commission also urged every company in the mobile payment chain to track payments so customers know who to contact if there is an error; to tell customers what data is collected and why; and allow customers to block all third-party charges.

As the world goes increasingly mobile, payment companies are getting into the act.