Leading industrial IoT company M2M Connectivity has today launched a new IoT service for the solar industry in Australia. The service is designed to support residential and commercial solar uptake and help retailers and installers meet evolving connectivity regulations.
The service, known as M2M SolarConnect, combines data plans with hardware – allowing retailers to monitor energy production remotely.
The launch is in response to rapid growth in the Australian solar market, which has grown by an average of 21 per cent since 2005 and now accounts for 12.4 per cent (March 2025) of Australia’s energy supply.
It is designed to assist retailers and installers meet compliance aligned to strict state-based Dynamic Export Limit (DEL) and CSIP-AUS regulations – set by Distributed Network Service Providers (DNSPs) – which require energy use to be remotely monitored and controlled via LTE networks.
Peter Austin, Sales Manager at M2M Connectivity, said: “The solar sector in Australia is witnessing a technical revolution as demand for systems and batteries soars. The only catch is that as our solar footprint increases so too does energy supply into the Grid. This has sparked new regulations which require more robust connectivity to monitor and control solar energy flows, which can’t be met by the traditional Wi-Fi connections used in thousands of homes and commercial premises today.”
“As Australia’s leading provider of industrial-grade IoT wireless devices and data plans, this is where M2M has an important role to play,” Peter adds.
M2M SolarConnect brings together pre-configured industrial routers from Semtech, Sierra Wireless and Skylink with IoT SIMs (supplied by M2M One) to create solar connectivity kits for fast DNSP approvals. This includes kits for residential rooftop installations, commercial sites and large-scale utilities up to 50 Megawatts.
To meet state-based regulations, the kits are configured with XML and DNSP templates for Victoria, South Australia and Queensland. A key feature includes cellular failover to ensure systems remain connected – in the event of network outages.
M2M SolarConnect builds on M2M Connectivity’s deep IoT expertise gained developing and deploying solutions across the utility, mining, agriculture and healthcare sectors. It also builds on recent experience deploying solar-specific connectivity solutions for companies including the National Renewable Network (NRN) and Smart Commercial Solar.
In 2024, M2M Connectivity helped NRN deploy over 600 solar communication units over 12 months – meeting compliance standards in each State.
With M2M’s pre-approved kits, DNSP approval typically takes 72 hours once submitted. The RCM-certified hardware and pre-configured XML templates also streamline the approval process compared to custom submissions.
Kat Dempsey, Senior Director for Revenue and Services APAC Semtech, said: “M2M is focused on supporting the needs of Australia’s growth industries with the best IoT hardware and data available. This is at the core of our service and value, our ability to bring fragmented solutions together and simplify an offering that is compliant and competitive. “By forging new partnerships, we intend to help reshape the market and further enhance our position and ability to support the solar industry and its aligned suppliers – ultimately becoming the one-stop-shop for solar IoT and making reliable connectivity and compliance accessible and simple,” adds Kat
M2M SolarConnect is available in a choice of bundled packages, which combine airtime and hardware. Alternatively, customers can purchase airtime and hardware as separate products, depending on specific requirements. The service will be available throughout Australia and New Zealand.
M2M SolarConnect is the company’s second major announcement this year. In June, M2M launched a new satellite solution – combining satellite airtime and hardware – to keep remote and critical industries connected across ANZ.
