AT&T Wireless customers that use cellular service for machine-to-machine communications should require fewer service calls for equipment upgrades in the future. The carrier announced this week that it has certified 17 wireless components from cellular developer Wavecom that can be upgraded via a remote download from servers operated by Wavecom. The Wavecom components, dubbed Wireless CPU, already have been built into a range of m2m devices designed to serve business customers in industries such as home security, automotive telematics and meter reading.

“Our focus is on secure transactions and end-to-end solutions,” said Wavecom CEO Ronald D. Black.

Manufacturers of the customer premises devices designed for m2m communications typically do not have strong cellular expertise, noted Wavecom chief technology officer Philippe Guillemette. Such companies can reduce product development time substantially by using Wavecom’s offerings, which essentially include the cellular-related elements of the product on a single component. In addition, the company has software development tools that simplify the process of integrating cellular communications with other functionality of customer premises devices. Because the full line of Wavecom components have been approved by AT&T, the approval process for manufacturers wishing to develop devices to work with that network can be simpler and less expensive using Wavecom’s offerings.

Wavecom is not the only company pursuing this approach to offer cellular components for use by manufacturers of m2m equipment and getting those components pre-approved, noted Marcus Torchia, senior analyst for The Yankee Group. Other suppliers using that approach include Siemens, Telit, Kyocera and Motorola, he said. He added, however, that Wavecom’s developer tool sets are “a bit more comprehensive” than what some competitors offer. And although other developers support remote downloads, Torchia said, “The fact that Wavecom can do it across their entire suite is probably unique.”

What really sets Wavecom apart, however, is the fact that the company operates its own servers to handle downloads on behalf of customers, Torchia said. Competitors, he said, “sell customers the device, but they’re on their own managing it.”

Remote downloading capability is particularly important in the m2m market because unlike cellular phones, which can easily be replaced and have a life of only 18 months or so, m2m communications devices may be replaced only once every 10 years—and replacement typically entails a costly service call. In the remote meter management market, Guillemette noted, the cost of a service call can be as much as five times the cost of the device. If a device can be remotely downloaded, replacement often can be avoided, Black said.

Wavecom, headquartered near Paris, was established in the early 1990s and last year acquired Sony Ericsson’s M2M business unit.