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Whose profile is rising? M2M
(From FierceWireless)

Once again, just as was the case last year, machine-to-machine connections and devices were in the spotlight at the CTIA Wireless 2012 conference. There was a dearth of smartphone and tablet announcements, and even though there was quite a bit of discussion around the future of Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone platform, traditional devices were not the stars of the show.

Click here for a slideshow of the phones announced at CTIA Wireless 2012.
AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) pushed M2M quite a bit at the show, and demonstrated its new “Digital Life” home automation and security service via a New Orleans Garden District home. Media and analysts were given a tour of the New Orleans house as AT&T showed off how various home appliances, window shades, table lamps, door locks, security cameras and even coffee pots can be outfitted with wireless sensors and then be controlled via an app on the homeowners’ iPad or smartphone. However, since the technology will only begin in two pilot markets–Atlanta and Dallas–AT&T was mum on the crucial issue of price.

Other carriers also got into the mix. Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) CTO Tony Melone called for a common, shared architecture for M2M connections, and argued that the industry’s current approach toward the issue has created fragmentation. Melone said he wanted to see a horizontal platform for M2M services that would handle device activations and monitoring, among other services. Such a layer would allow M2M service providers to quickly and easily plug their offerings into a carrier network.