A network operator is expanding its offerings to become a nationwide supplier of cellular services for telematics and machine-to-machine communications.

Aeris, in San Jose, Calif., recently unveiled a new Short Message Service (SMS) designed for very low latency and high reliability, and an on-demand voice service, both optimized for such industrial-style applications as tank monitoring, utility grid management or security sensors. These combine with a conventional SMS text-messaging service and the company’s MicroBurst service for event reporting and wireless remote control.

All the services are managed via AerFrame, a network management and provisioning software system introduced about 12 months ago.

Billing itself as the first “specialized mobile network operator,” Aeris owns no cell towers or spectrum. Instead it owns and runs two high-end switching centers that connect directly to the Signaling System 7 (SS7) switches at the core of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cellular networks from 30 North American carriers. Roaming agreements aren’t needed, says Robert Schoenfield, senior vice president of marketing and business development.

An Aeris "subscriber" is any device -- such as an oil-tank sensor or a motion detector -- with an embedded cellular radio, which then is provisioned automatically and remotely with an Aeris phone number, from a block of 110 million numbers. When the device places a call to report a change or other data, the call is handed off over the SS7 network from the carriers to an Aeris switching center. The center then takes over the care and servicing of the client and the movement of data to enterprise applications or databases.

Aeris has about 1.2 million such devices on the network, about half of which are used in residential and manufacturing security applications, according to Schoenfield. The devices can make use of IP sessions over 1XRTT, Evolution Data Optimized, General Packet Radio Service and Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution networks.

Wireless sensor networks coupled with wireless WAN connectivity for monitoring enterprise assets is seen as a major growth market for vendors. Qualcomm in November acquired nPhase, a company with products that monitor dispersed enterprise computing and network assets.