5G Expansion Drives Cellular IoT Market as it Extents to $15B in 2023

Global cellular IoT connections have reached 3.56 billion, and 5G innovations are expected to drive a strong increase in this number.

In 2023, the cellular IoT market grew significantly, with 3.56 billion cellular IoT connections bringing in $15 billion for worldwide mobile operators. The Global Cellular IoT Connectivity Tracker & Forecast by IoT Analytics indicates that this industry has grown at an average CAGR of 16% since 2010 and will increase to a CAGR of over 18% by 2030.

The fact that mobile operators overtook software providers and hyperscalers in 2023 in terms of IoT revenue growth highlights how crucial cellular connectivity is becoming for IoT devices. Demand is still high even though inventory changes caused cellular IoT module suppliers' year-over-year revenue to slightly fall.

Major firms control a large portion of the market. China Mobile leads with 46% of all connections worldwide and a sizable revenue share. China Telecom, China Unicom, Vodafone, and AT&T are next in line. Geographically, Western operators command higher prices for data plans, but even with fewer connections than the global average, they nevertheless see robust revenue growth.

Near future, the emergence of 5G and developments like 5G RedCap are expected to significantly alter the environment. By 2030, these technologies are anticipated to account for about half of IoT revenue generated by mobile operators, with 5G connections growing at a 44% CAGR starting in 2024. This development offers improved capabilities in a number of areas, including as automotive applications and video surveillance.

The cellular IoT industry is still growing as consumer needs and technological breakthroughs change, with 5G playing a pivotal role in its future growth and development.