South African mobile operator Vodacom is launching a Global Data Service Platform (GDSP) to help companies deploy and manage large, wireless Machine to Machine (M2M) projects.

The system is planned to be supported by an expert local team backed by Vodafone's global M2M business unit, says the mobile operator.

Wireless M2M is prevelent in areas such as smart metering, vehicle tracking, point of sales (POS) and the remote monitoring of equipment.

GDSP uses a dedicated Vodafone SIM with a unique IMSI range with over 5 billion available numbers to service this market, says Vodacom.

The GDSP SIMs are available in both standard plastic (2FF) and Chip (SON-8) form factors, the company adds.

All functionality is available via a web graphical user interface (GUI). Alternatively, customers can integrate into the platform from their own systems via APIs.

"The market for M2M services using remote intelligent devices is both broadening in scope and size," said Gabi Strijp, executive head of Mobile Enterprise Product Management, Vodacom Business Services.

"We understand that deploying and managing large numbers of SIM cards can be very resource intensive and hence costly. The GDSP addresses this by putting the control back into the hands of our M2M customers so that they can focus on other areas of their business," Strijp added.