The Internet of Things is weaving a new worldwide web of interconnected objects. As of Q1-2023, about 3.1 billion devices were connected to wide area networks based on cellular or LPWA technologies.
The market is highly diverse and divided into multiple ecosystems. The analyst forecasts that annual shipments of cellular and non-3GPP LPWA IoT modules will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.3 percent from 514 million units in 2022 to 1.1 billion units in 2027. Get up to date with the latest trends from all main regions and vertical markets with this unique 120-page report.
Highlights from the Report:
360-Degree Overview of the Main IoT Wide Area Networking Ecosystems.
Comparison of Technologies and Standards.
Updated Profiles of the Main Suppliers of IoT Chipsets and Modules.
Cellular IoT Module Market Data for 2022.
Adoption Trends for Lpwa Technologies Including Nb-Iot, Lte-M, Lora and Sigfox.
Cellular and Non-3Gpp Lpwa IoT Device Market Forecasts Until 2027.
Annual shipments of cellular IoT modules amounted to 427 million units in 2022, flat from the previous year. Annual sales grew by 12 percent and amounted to US$ 5.9 billion in the year. The five largest cellular module vendors - Quectel, Fibocom, Sierra Wireless, Sunsea AIoT and Telit - held a 69 percent share of the market in terms of revenues. The industry has seen a wave of consolidation in recent time with Telit acquiring the Cinterion line of IoT products and services from Thales, Semtech acquiring Sierra Wireless and Fibocom consolidating its ownership in Rolling Wireless.
4G LTE technologies dominate the cellular IoT technology landscape as LTE Cat-1, NB-IoT and LTE-M replace 2G and 3G technologies in the low to mid market segments. LTE Cat-1 modules account for a major share of volume across all regions. In China, modules based on chipsets from domestic suppliers, supporting the single antenna version LTE Cat-1 bis, are roughly half the price at US$ 10 compared to standard LTE Cat-1 modules. In large tenders, prices for LTE Cat-1 bis modules have even dropped below US$ 5 per unit. Adoption of LTE Cat-1 in the country comes somewhat at the expense of NB-IoT shipments that recorded a year-on-year decline. Similar to the previous year, NB-IoT module shipments were largely confined to China. Internationally, NB-IoT module shipments are in the single-digit millions with demand primarily driven by smart gas meter and smart water meter deployments.
LTE-M was the fastest growing technology in 2022 and is viewed as an attractive option for IoT devices with stricter requirements on power consumption and long lifecycle. As both LTE-M and NB-IoT are 5G-ready, they are suitable for IoT devices that will stay in the field for more than 10 years, which may prove critical as mobile operators in advanced markets will start to sunset their 4G LTE networks near the end of the decade. LTE-M module shipments today far exceed NB-IoT shipments outside of China. The ability to perform over-the-air software upgrades of LTE-M devices has proven to be the key factor for the technology's success compared to NB-IoT.
5G is starting to replace high-speed 4G LTE variants across product categories like connected cars, CPEs and IoT gateways, though 5G module shipments were limited to less than 10 million units in 2022. The first chipset supporting the 5G RedCap specification was launched in early 2023. 5G RedCap chipsets are less complex and expensive compared to 5G eMBB-capable chipsets and will function as a replacement for LTE Cat-4 and LTE Cat-6 chipsets, supporting use cases with requirements for lower data rates below 300 Mbps. 5G RedCap modules are currently available in samples and are expected to sell for about double the price compared to LTE Cat-4 modules.
The analyst believes that uptake of the technology will be small in the short-term due to the price gap and limited number of chipset providers as well as the requirement for 5G SA network coverage. Nevertheless, early 5G RedCap adopters will likely be providers of high-end IoT devices like wearables, telematics gateways, industrial meters and alarm panels.
This report answers the following questions:
How will the IoT wide area networking technology market evolve over the next five years?
Who are the new challengers in the cellular IoT module market?
Which new mass-volume segments can be addressed by low-cost LPWA technologies?
Why are the standards LTE-M and NB-IoT so significant for the cellular IoT ecosystem?
Which IoT applications will drive the adoption of 5G?
What is the timeline for the introduction of 5G NR Reduced Capability (RedCap) devices?
What is the current installed base of LoRa and Sigfox devices?
What are the prospects for emerging LPWA technology standards?
Who should read this report? Cellular and LPWA IoT Device Ecosystems is the foremost source of information about all the major wide area networking technologies for the Internet of Things. Whether you are a chipset or module vendor, software vendor, utility, vehicle manufacturer, telecom operator, investor, consultant, or government agency, you will gain valuable insights from our in-depth research.
Key Topics Covered:
1 Wide Area Networks for the Internet of Things 1.1 Which things will be connected to wide area networks? 1.1.1 Utility meters 1.1.2 Motor vehicles 1.1.3 Buildings 1.1.4 Low value assets - Industry 4.0 and consumer products 1.1.5 The opportunity to create smarter and safer cities 1.2 What are the technology options? 1.2.1 Network deployment models 1.2.2 Unlicensed and licensed frequency bands 1.2.3 Cost comparison for cellular and LPWA technologies 1.3 Which are the leading technology ecosystems?
2 3GPP Ecosystem 2.1 Technology characteristics 2.1.1 3GPP Release 13 - Introducing LTE-M and NB-IoT 2.1.2 3GPP Release 14 - IoT enhancements and C-V2X 2.1.3 3GPP Release 15 - The first phase of 5G specifications 2.1.4 3GPP Release 16 - URLLC enhancements, IIoT features and 5G NR C-V2X 2.1.5 3GPP Release 17 - RedCap and non-terrestrial network communications 2.1.6 Network footprint 2.1.7 2G/3G mobile networks 2.1.8 4G mobile networks 2.1.9 4G/5G mobile IoT networks (LTE-M and NB-IoT) 2.1.10 5G mobile networks 2.2 Semiconductor vendors 2.2.1 ASR Microelectronics 2.2.2 Eigencomm 2.2.3 Intel 2.2.4 MediaTek 2.2.5 MLINK 2.2.6 Qualcomm 2.2.7 Samsung Electronics 2.2.8 Sequans Communications 2.2.9 Sony 2.2.10 UNISOC 2.2.11 Xinyi Information Technology 2.2.12 Other semiconductor vendors 2.3 Module vendors 2.3.1 China Mobile IoT 2.3.2 Fibocom 2.3.3 Gosuncn WeLink 2.3.4 MeiG Smart Technology 2.3.5 Murata 2.3.6 Neoway 2.3.7 Nordic Semiconductor 2.3.8 Quectel 2.3.9 Rolling Wireless (Fibocom) 2.3.10 Sierra Wireless (Semtech) 2.3.11 Sunsea AIoT (SIMCom & Longsung) 2.3.12 Telit Cinterion 2.3.13 u-blox 2.3.14 Other cellular IoT module vendors
3 LoRa and LoRaWAN Ecosystem 3.1 Technology characteristics 3.2 Network footprint 3.2.1 Europe 3.2.2 Asia-Pacific 3.2.3 The Americas 3.2.4 Middle East & Africa 3.3 Semiconductor and module vendors 3.3.1 Semtech 3.3.2 Other semiconductor vendors 3.3.3 LoRa module vendors
4 Sigfox Ecosystem 4.1 Technology characteristics 4.2 Network footprint 4.2.1 Europe 4.2.2 The Americas 4.2.3 Asia-Pacific 4.2.4 Middle East & Africa 4.2.5 UnaBiz partners with the LoRaWAN ecosystem 4.2.6 Examples of major Sigfox use cases 4.3 Semiconductor and module vendors 4.3.1 Semiconductor vendors 4.3.2 Sigfox module vendors
5 Emerging LPWA Ecosystems 5.1 IEEE 802.15.4 5.1.1 Connectivity stacks based on 802.15.4 5.1.2 Network footprint 5.2 Wirepas Mesh 5.3 DECT-2020 NR (NR+) 5.4 Mioty 5.5 Chipset and module vendors
6 Market Forecasts and Trends 6.1 Market summary 6.2 3GPP family 6.2.1 Europe 6.2.2 North America 6.2.3 Latin America 6.2.4 China 6.2.5 Rest of Asia-Pacific 6.2.6 Middle East & Africa 6.3 LoRa 6.4 Sigfox 6.5 Emerging LPWA technologies
About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
