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Global Cellular IoT Module Shipments Jump 14% YoY in 2022 to Reach Highest Ever

Quectel and Qualcomm dominated the cellular IoT module and chipset markets, respectively.
NB-IoT is still popular among technologies but is expected to lose some market share to 4G CAT1.bis in 2023.
5G adoption to get a boost in 2024 if ASP declines to sub-$100 and 5G RedCap-based solutions become available.
China continues to lead IoT module market, followed by North America and Western Europe.

San Diego, Buenos Aires, London, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul – March 29, 2023

Global cellular IoT module shipments grew 14% YoY in 2022 to register record high annual volume, despite macroeconomic headwinds, according to Counterpoint’s latest Global Cellular IoT Module and Chipset Tracker by Application report. The resumption of smart meter implementation, ongoing retail POS upgrades, intelligent asset tracking and the continued growth in connected cars due to progress in electrification and autonomous capabilities were some of the key drivers for the double-digit percentage growth in demand for IoT modules.

China continued to lead the global cellular IoT module market in terms of demand, followed by North America and Western Europe. Meanwhile, India was the fastest growing market, followed by Latin America and North America. Although India has a smaller base, it has immense potential. Eastern Europe was the only region that registered a decline due to the prolonged Ukraine-Russia war.

Commenting on the competitive dynamics among cellular IoT module OEMs, Senior Research Analyst Soumen Mandal said, “In 2022, Quectel was the top cellular IoT module player in China, the world’s largest market for these components. Meanwhile, China Mobile and Fibocom captured second and third place, respectively, enjoying their tremendous scale in the domestic market. Outside of China, Quectel remained the leader followed by Telit and Thales which have merged and will commence operations as a new brand, Telit Cinterion, starting Q1 2023.

Quectel increased its focus in the consolidating automotive (NAD module) segment in 2022 and secured multiple design wins with major automakers. The competition in the NAD module market is intensifying as the industry transitions to 5G connectivity. With every transition of cellular technology, we have seen the market consolidate as it becomes increasingly challenging to serve the automotive segment, which requires heavy customization but garners a lower margin.

China Mobile, the world’s largest CSP and IoT connectivity player, is becoming more vertically integrated by leveraging its massive scale to capture maximum value. It has the potential to break into the top three global cellular IoT module rankings this year. However, the company primarily operates in China and will need to expand into other verticals and markets via a robust partnership model to maintain its momentum.”

Commenting on the IoT cellular connectivity chipset player dynamics, Associate Director Ethan Qi said, “Qualcomm continued to dominate the cellular IoT chipset market in 2022 with nearly 40% shipments share. Qualcomm strengthened its position in the LTE CAT 4 and higher technologies while also maintaining a dominant position in the 5G market. Qualcomm recently launched its latest 4G CAT1.bis chipset, QCX216, to compete head-on with the LTE CAT1.bis leaders UNISOC and Eigencomm.

Qi added, “In 2022, UNISOC and ASR maintained their second and third positions due to strong adoption of the fast-growing LTE CAT1.bis and CAT 1 based modules, respectively. During the year, two new players from China, Eigencomm and Xinyi Semiconductor, broke into the top five cellular IoT chipset vendor rankings, filling the gap left by Hisilicon. Eigencomm focuses on NB-IoT and 4G CAT1.bis applications while Xinyi Semiconductor focuses on NB-IoT chipsets, both being low-cost but high-volume segments.”

Commenting on the technology landscape, Mandal added, “During 2022, NB-IoT remained the most popular LPWA IoT connectivity technology followed by the fast-growing 4G CAT 1 and 4G CAT 4 modules. Together, these contributed to 60% of the total IoT module market. For most of 2022, China was under lockdown due to the resurgence of COVID-19 which drove greater demand for products such as smart door locks, digital thermometers and wearables, mostly powered by NB-IoT.

NB-IoT saw strong adoption in China but has been less popular outside the country. In contrast, 4G CAT.1bis has been gaining traction globally and has the potential to be an alternative to several NB-IoT and existing 2G/3G applications such as smart meters. However, 5G saw slower adoption in IoT than in smartphones last year due to the higher module costs. The key initial 5G applications are PCs, CPEs and some industrial/enterprise applications.

We believe 5G will enter the mainstream market once the module ASP breaks the sub-$100 barrier and receives a further boost from the 5G RedCap commercialization in coming years.”

Commenting on the IoT market outlook for 2023, Associate Director Mohit Agrawal said, “Global cellular IoT module shipments (including NAD modules) are expected to register robust growth of 19% YoY in 2023. The growth of IoT module shipments in the high-value industrial segment will be key for the IoT projects that have struggled to move beyond the pilot stage and for companies that are focusing more on ROI in a tough macroeconomic environment. Nevertheless, shipments of IoT modules for the smart meter, point of sale (POS) and the automotive markets are expected to continue seeing strong growth, which will offset a slowdown in other segments.”

The market has been undergoing consolidation across the IoT value chain from module players and connectivity management to IoT platform players. This has highlighted the importance of scale, choosing the right vertical and capturing value by striking the right partnerships or developing the right capabilities. We could see some more exits and mergers in 2023 because IoT, which is very vertical driven, has been seeing volatile growth due to internal or external factors.”

For detailed research, refer to the following reports available for subscribing clients and individuals:

Counterpoint tracks 1,500+ IoT module SKUs on a quarterly basis and provides forecasts on shipments, revenues and ASP performances for 80+ IoT module vendors, 12+ chipset players and 18+ IoT applications across 10 major geographies.

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the technology, media and telecom (TMT) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts

Soumen Mandal

Mohit Agrawal

Anish Khajuria

Counterpoint Research

press@counterpointresearch.com

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5G AIoT Unlocking New Era of IoT

The use of IoT devices is making our daily lives smarter. IoT combined with artificial intelligence (AI), or artificial IoT (AIoT), is helping in automated real-time decision-making and data analysis. AI can add value to IoT through machine learning (ML) and improved decision-making. Similarly, IoT can add value to AI through connectivity and data exchange. With the rapid technological advancements, AIoT is transforming every industry, enterprise and consumer.

5G is going to be the key ingredient in driving AIoT applications. According to a Counterpoint Research study, the shipments of 5G AIoT-supported modules will grow at a CAGR of 84% between 2022 and 2030. Further, 60% of 5G IoT modules will have AI capability by 2030 for better processing and real-time decision-making.

AIoT applications

The adoption of AIoT is becoming an emerging technology trend across a wide range of industries where real-time data operation is needed, such as industrial manufacturing, robotics, logistics, healthcare, agriculture, smart cities and smart home.

Industrial manufacturing

Manufacturing relies on digital transformation to become more efficient and reduce human error. This sector needs to adopt AIoT solutions. AIoT-powered robots in factories improve the manufacturing process with excellent efficiency. They help reduce labor costs as well as time.

Smart cities

In a smart city, there are several uses of AIoT, such as traffic management and waste management. To avoid chaos and congestion on the road in a crowded city, AIoT-based drones help monitor traffic and transmit real-time traffic data for analyses through AI and for making decisions on the speed limit and timing of traffic lights, all without human interference. Therefore, real-time traffic monitoring by drones increases efficiency and reduces congestion.

Security and surveillance are other important applications for AI in smart cities. AI cameras can help police monitor illegal activities and prevent unwanted situations.

Autonomous vehicles

Self-driving cars are one of the best use cases of AIoT applications. IoT-enabled devices like cameras, radars and sonars in the car gather data and the AI system helps analyze this data within a few milliseconds so that the car can make decisions like a human. Fully autonomous vehicles will generate 1-2TB of data per hour and AI will be required to handle this amount of data and take some decisions at the edge.

Smart homes

AI in the connected home space is mainly used for voice assistant, situational awareness, automation and security. Starting from door locks, smoke alarm, surveillance and smart speakers to smart appliances such as lighting, thermostat, refrigerator, plugs, routers, meters, home controllers and vehicle chargers, many applications have already adopted AI features.

Challenges in implementing AI in IoT

As most AI applications are based on real-time decision-making, they need a high-speed data rate to communicate. 5G’s high speed and low latency will be ideal for AIoT applications. But in many regions, 5G infrastructure is still not there or is in the initial phase. Hence, it will be challenging to scale. Data management and taking the right decision at the right time by handling huge amounts of data will be another big challenge for AI adoption. Moreover, the security angle will also need to be addressed. Both hardware- and software-level security will be required for AIoT applications to keep connected devices safe.

Initiatives by module and chipset players in AI applications

With the increasing traction for 5G-based AIoT applications, module vendors like Fibocom, Quectel, Thundercomm and MeiG are stepping forward to launch AI-supported 5G IoT modules. Some module vendors are offering AI features at the hardware level while some vendors are offering AI features at the software level. Whether to use hardware- or software-level AI features depends on the application and cost of the project. Recently, Quectel announced that it would add software-level AI capability in its Rel 16-based 5G modules by partnering with NVIDIA. International module vendor Telit is also adding AI capabilities in its FM980 5G module through NVIDIA software. However, Quectel, Fibocom, MeiG and Thundercomm are already offering hardware-level 5G AI-supported modules for high-end applications such as C-V2X, AR/VR, robots, smart cities, live streaming, gaming and edge computing.

In terms of chipset players, Qualcomm is leading in the 5G AIoT chipset space. This year, it launched the world’s first AI-supported 5G modem Snapdragon X70. Moreover, it has broader 5G AIoT SoC offerings with the QCM6490, Snapdragon 480, Snapdragon 690 and Snapdragon 750.

The second-largest IoT chipset player, UNISOC, is trying to gain momentum for 5G through AIoT-based SoCs. So far, UNISOC is offering AIoT features in its T770, T760 and T740 chipsets.

Recently, MediaTek launched the Genio 1200 chipset, specially designed for 5G AIoT devices. It is targeting applications such as smart home, industrial, robotics and audio/video terminals.

We expect that 2023 will provide momentum to the 5G AIoT market as the IoT market has been facing some instability lately due to inflation, supply issues and other macro factors.

Podcast #55: 5G FWA Update – Connecting Next Half Billion Households

The consumer demand for high-speed home broadband continues to grow at a rapid pace as companies adopt the hybrid working culture. Even personal content consumption has increased, be it for music and video streaming, gaming or other applications. And as billions of consumers across the globe continue to wait for reliable home broadband, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) in conjunction with 5G is proving to be a great solution for last-mile connectivity.

In our previous podcast in 2020, we discussed why FWA is a killer app for 5G in helping bridge the digital divide. It’s nearly two years since, and there have been some developments with increased FWA deployments. From factors driving the growth of FWA to prices of CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) and how the ecosystem is changing with geopolitics, we discuss all this in the podcast.

In the latest episode of ‘The Counterpoint Podcast’, host Jan Stryjak is joined by Senior Analysts Tina Lu and Parv Sharma to talk about the key trends in the Fixed Wireless Access space. We have also covered the 5G vs 4G FWA subscription forecast, factors that are holding back the growth of FWA in certain regions, and more.

Hit the Play Button to Listen to the Podcast

You can read the podcast transcript here.

Podcast Chapter Markers

01:19 – Tina highlights the current broadband connectivity situation across the globe.

03:16 – Tina explains why Fixed Wireless Access is touted as the Killer App for bridging the digital divide.

05:42 – Tina talks about key factors that are driving the growth of Fixed Wireless Access.

07:55 – Parv on the pricing of CPE and how it affects the growth of Fixed Wireless Access.

09:40 – Parv talks about how the FWA CPE ecosystem is changing after the limitations in the US due to geopolitics.

11:29 – Tina on 5G vs 4G FWA subscription forecast.

12:56 – Tina on factors that are delaying the growth of Fixed Wireless Access in some regions.

15:35 – Parv talks about the top FWA CPE players in the market.

17:46 – Final comments from Parv and Tina.

Also available for listening/download on:

Quectel, Fibocom & Sunsea Capture Half the Cellular IoT Module Market in Q1 2022

Quectel, Foxconn, China Mobile, WNC, Telit, MeiG, Sequans, Gosuncn were the fastest growing vendors in Q1 2022.
Smart Meters, POS, industrial, automotive and telematics were the top five applications in the quarter.
China, North America, and Western Europe accounted for over 75% of the volume.

San Diego, Buenos Aires, London, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul – June 23, 2022

Global cellular IoT module shipments grew 35% YoY in Q1 2022, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Global Cellular IoT Module and Chipset Tracker by Application. India was the fastest growing market (59% YoY) followed by Middle East Africa, Japan, North America, China, Western Europe and Korea, all registering healthy double-digit growth. However, the largest IoT module market, China, saw demand dip by 11% QoQ due to the new wave of COVID-19 and resulting lockdowns.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Senior Research Analyst Soumen Mandal said, “The cellular IoT module market remains competitive, but there is growing consolidation. For example, Quectel, Fibocom and Sunsea accounted for more than half of the global IoT cellular module shipment volumes for the first time ever. This highlights the growing influence, expertise, and scale of these Chinese vendors in the fast-growing global market.

Quectel’s cellular IoT module shipments grew 77% YoY in Q1 2022 to a healthy 38% of global volume. Quectel now ships more modules than the next ten vendors combined. Quectel continues to dominate geographically with leadership in seven out of ten key markets globally. Quectel commands a strong position in 4G and NB-IoT modules. Quectel is expanding its 5G portfolio and aims to gain scale as the technology ramps.

Fibocom’s shipments grew by 24% YoY benefitting from the surging demand for 4G Cat 1 bis modules, which is one of the fastest growing segments and led by Fibocom globally. 4G Cat 1 bis is becoming a key technology targeting the 2G and 3G IoT installed base and similar applications such as POS and telematics. Fibocom is also heavily focusing on 5G AIoT based smart modules to maintain a lead in high value applications.

Sunsea AIoT which includes the brands SIMcom and Longsung, has cemented its place in the top three brands. It focuses on 4G Cat-1 and NB-IoT modules. China continues to be the key market for Sunsea; it will need to diversify if it wants to scale and grow at the same pace as its peers.

Telit captured 4.6% share and is the only non-Chinese brand in the top five players. Demand for its modules remains healthy in North and Latin America. The module mix shifted slightly with increasing demand for legacy 2G and 3G modules offsetting some volume decline in 4G modules due to supply chain constraints. Telit leads the Latin America market and is among the top three vendors in North America.

China Mobile, Sierra Wireless and u-blox improved their market share in Q1. The world’s largest EMS, Foxconn, also entered our top ten module players list with growing demand in the CPE and connected PC segments. The relationship with top device makers, potential EV business growth and a focus on 5G technology, should help Foxconn to grow in this sector in the mid- to long-term.”

Commenting on cellular IoT technology evolution, Associate Director Ethan Qi, said, “There is a significant shift happening in the adoption and proliferation of different cellular IoT access technologies, from LPWA (NB-IoT, LTE-M) to 4G (Cat 1, Cat 1 bis) to 4G Cat 3+, 5G and upcoming 5G Redcap. This is driven not only by the wide range of different applications, but also regional and operator adoption dynamics. NB-IoT is considered a key and fast-growing technology for low power IoT applications and has been widely adopted in China and some other parts of the world. Whereas LTE-M is preferred in markets such as Japan, Australia, North America, and parts of Europe. However, we are also witnessing many regions and operators favouring 4G Cat 1 and Cat 1 bis for some mature and some new IoT applications. While most of these technologies are complimentary, operators still have to selectively invest in one over others, depending on the IoT verticals of most importance to them.

As we see 5G rolling out, many of the advanced IoT applications such as automotive, router CPEs, PCs will move to 5G from advanced 4G technologies. Furthermore, the advent of 5G Redcap will also supplant some legacy technologies such as 3G/4G in some IoT applications. So, the entire IoT ecosystem has a wide array of cellular access technology solutions to choose from depending on the applications, data requirements, cost constraints and operator dynamics in a particular market.

The technology mix also shapes the overall cellular IoT module Average Selling Price (ASP), which declined by 3% annually in Q1 due to an increasing mix of lower cost 4G Cat 1 and 4G Cat 1 bis modules. Furthermore, the 4G Cat 4+ modules are still facing supply chain constraints and the % share of 5G modules remains small contributing to the overall ASP decline. We believe the 4G module supply chain issues will moderate later this year, but the falling ASP for 5G modules will provide an option for device OEMs to either select 4G or 5G modules moving forward.”

Commenting on which IoT applications are hottest, Research Vice President Neil Shah said, “Cellular IoT powers a diverse set of applications and the number of things that can be connected to the internet continues to rise.

Smart meters, POS and industrial were the top three applications in the global cellular IoT module market in Q1 2022. These segments are contributing to nearly 40% of total cellular IoT module shipments.

Smart meter projects have restarted in many markets post-COVID and the segment is seeing strong growth with shipments doubling compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, demand in the router/CPE segment is steadily growing as the supply constraints lessen and demand increases for FWA CPEs for the work-from-home segment, and 4G/5G upgrade projects increase for enterprise-grade routers across retail, factories, offices, etc.”

For detailed research, refer to the following reports available for subscribing clients and also for individual subscription:

Counterpoint tracks and forecasts on a quarterly basis 1500+ IoT module SKUs’ shipments, revenues, and ASP performance across 80+ IoT module vendors, 12+ chipset players, 18+ IoT applications and 10 major geographies.

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

Soumen Mandal

Ethan Qi

Neil Shah

Counterpoint Research

press(at)counterpointresearch.com

Related Reports:

Qualcomm Retains Top Position in Global Cellular IoT Chipset Market in Q4 2021

Qualcomm, UNISOC and ASR were the top three cellular IoT chipset vendors in Q4 2021.
NB-IoT contributed to almost a third of the cellular IoT chipset shipments during the quarter.
Smart meter, POS, router/CPE, industrial and automotive were the top five applications in Q4 2021.

New Delhi, San Diego, Buenos Aires, London, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul – April 12, 2022

Global cellular IoT chipset shipments grew 57% YoY in Q4 2021, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Global Cellular IoT Module and Chipset Tracker by Application. China continued to dominate the cellular IoT chipset market by accounting for nearly 60% of the shipments. 5G grew 392% YoY followed by 4G Cat 1 with 154% YoY growth. Router/CPE, PC and industrial were the top three applications for 5G.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Research Analyst Anish Khajuria said, “Qualcomm, UNISOC and ASR held the top three positions in the global cellular IoT chipset market in Q4 2021, accounting for nearly 75% of the total shipments. UNISOC, Qualcomm and ASR were the top three players in China. For the rest of the world, Qualcomm led the market, followed by UNISOC and Intel.”

Qualcomm led the global cellular IoT chipset market with a 38% share in terms of shipments. Qualcomm grew its share both annually and sequentially with traction across key segments such as automotive, router/CPE, retail, asset tracking and industrial IoT. However, competition from local players in China, such as UNISOC and ASR, in key fast-growing segments like LTE Cat-1/Cat-1 bis and NB-IoT limited Qualcomm’s growth opportunities in the world’s largest IoT market. However, Qualcomm has broadened its portfolio of IoT solutions, targeting specific verticals like retail, automotive, industrial IoT and smart cities. It has also launched an IoT services suite covering more than 30 verticals to enhance platform support for IoT-as-a-service (IoTaaS) applications and accelerator programs (like smart cities) with a more ecosystem-led approach bringing in different stakeholders across the value chain.

UNISOC, the second-largest cellular IoT chipset player globally, has been strong across NB-IoT and 4G Cat 1 technologies. Its cellular IoT chipset shipments growth has continued for nearly last four quarters and is able to fill the gap which HiSilicon left in the market. Moreover, it is making steady improvements in higher-end technologies such as 5G, 4G Cat 4 and above. It has also succeeded in expanding its customer base to Quectel, Fibocom, China Mobile and many more module players. This helped it to capture more than one-fourth of shipments in Q4 2021. UNISOC is focused on low-end applications like smart metering, POS and industrial. For 5G, it has launched the V510 baseband and V516 platform which are widely used in FWA routers and CPE devices.

ASR Microelectronics maintained its third ranking in the cellular IoT chipset market in Q4 2021 due to strong performance in the 4G Cat 1 and 4G Cat 4 module segments. ASR is providing strong competition to UNISOC for 4G Cat 1 and to Qualcomm for 4G Cat 4 module-based applications lately. However, ASR is yet to launch NB-IoT and 5G solutions and thus will have to work on its long-term capabilities and strategy to maintain this high growth which could remain for the next 2-3 years. The company has increased its production capacity this year to meet demand. ASR has local partnerships with many module players in 4G Cat 1 and Cat 4 technology, like Quectel, Longsung and Rinlink.

MediaTek took the fourth position in the market in Q4 2021. However, it is not much focused on the cellular IoT market compared to the smartphone chipset market. This is one of the key reasons for it to lose 4% market share sequentially in this quarter. MediaTek is also focusing on 5G enhancement and recently launched Kompanio 900T, a new 5G platform for tablets, notebooks and other IoT devices. The MediaTek T750 chipset is already quite popular for FWA and CPE devices.

Global Cellular IoT Chipset Shipments Share by Chipset Vendor, Q4 2021

Source: Counterpoint Global Cellular IoT Module and Chipset Tracker by Region, Q4 2021

Eigencomm registered a strong growth of 3743% YoY albeit on a smaller base as it struck partnerships with Quectel and Fibocom for NB-IoT module chipsets.

Sequans also registered growth with a robust 4G, LPWA and 5G chipset portfolio. The French manufacturer saw strong traction in key markets such as asset tracking, healthcare and smart meters.

Sony Semicon (Altair Semi) registered growth this quarter with a strong partnership with Sierra Wireless and Wistron NeWeb targeting smart meters, asset trackers and smart cities markets.

Samsung also launched a 5G chipset targeting automotive applications. It may provide strong competition to Qualcomm and MediaTek if it can enter a strong partnership with automakers.

Intel and HiSilicon are still supplying their leftover inventory to some of their top customers where the modules with their chipsets are designed in.

Global Cellular IoT Chipset Shipments Share by Application, Q4 2021

Source: Counterpoint Global Cellular IoT Module and Chipset Tracker by Application, Q4 2021

*Note: Figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding

Commenting on the application side of chipsets, Vice President Research Neil Shah said, “Smart meter, POS, router/CPE, industrial and automotive were the top five applications in terms of shipments in Q4 2021. PC had the maximum growth of 245% YoY, followed by smart meter with 124% YoY and router/CPE with 112% YoY growth. Router/CPE, PC and industrial were the top three applications for 5G. For NB-IoT, smart meters, asset tracking and energy were the top three applications. 4G Cat 1 is becoming popular in the POS, industrial and smart meter segments due to its high performance and low power consumption architecture. We forecast that smart meters, industrial and router/CPE will grow the maximum in the future.”

For detailed research, refer to the following reports available for subscribing clients and also for individual subscriptions:

Counterpoint tracks and forecasts on a quarterly basis 1,450+ IoT module SKUs’ shipments, revenues and ASP performance across 85+ IoT module vendors, 12+ chipset players, 18+ IoT applications and 10 major geographies.

Background

Analyst Contacts:

Anish Khajuria

Neil Shah

Counterpoint Research

press(at)counterpointresearch.com

Related Reports:

Global Cellular IoT Module Revenue Grows 58% YoY in Q4 2021; 5G, 4G Cat 1 Modules Fastest Growing

Quectel and Qualcomm led the global cellular IoT module and IoT chipset markets respectively in Q4 2021.
5G contributed to nearly a quarter of the cellular IoT module market revenue.
Automotive, router/CPE, industrial, PC and POS were the top five applications in the quarter.

San Diego, Buenos Aires, London, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul – March 31, 2022

Global cellular IoT module revenue grew 58% YoY in Q4 2021, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Global Cellular IoT Module and Chipset Tracker by Application. China, the leading region in the cellular IoT module market, accounted for more than 40% of the revenue. However, India was the fastest growing (154% YoY) cellular IoT module market. 5G was the fastest growing (324% YoY) technology followed by 4G Cat 1 (105% YoY). Router/CPE, PC and industrial were the top applications for 5G.

Commenting on the market dynamics, Senior Research Analyst Soumen Mandal said, “Quectel, Telit and MeiG held the top three positions in the global cellular IoT module market, accounting for 40% of the total revenue in Q4 2021. For 2021, global cellular IoT module shipments and revenue grew by 59% and 57% YoY respectively.”

Quectel’s cellular IoT module revenue grew more than 100% YoY in Q4 2021. Strong partnerships, superior service and a wide range of product offerings are supporting its growth. Quectel launched a new ODM brand, Ikotek, targeting the US market. We expect it to help Quectel increase its footprint in North America and Latin America. Moreover, the products can be customized and designed according to the regulatory requirements of a project.

Telit made a strong comeback after a relatively weaker performance in recent history. Telit has been expanding its offerings, which is helping its revival. Telit NExT is providing flexible connectivity plans across 190 countries to take advantage of emerging business models and removing major bottlenecks for many IoT device vendors. In Q4 2021, Telit’s focus on Latin America to help customers migrate legacy 2G and 3G modules to 4G Cat 1 modules helped it become the leading module supplier in the region to complement its strong position in North America.

MeiG is another Chinese player which is making continuous progress and made it to the top three in cellular IoT modules, both in shipments and revenue. It is focusing more on AIoT and smart module-based higher-end applications such as router/CPE, intelligent cockpit, video recordings, industrial PDAs, drones and AR/VR. MeiG entered lower-end applications in 2021. This product mix of higher-end and lower-end modules helped MeiG increase revenue by more than 100% in Q4 2021.

Thales, Rolling Wireless, Sunsea, Fibocom and Sierra Wireless are other key players. Out of the top 10 players, Rolling Wireless and LG are focussing on the automotive segment only.

Thales is performing well in Europe, North America and Japan targeting smart meter, healthcare and industrial applications. Sunsea improved its performance in the global IoT module market, but it wasn’t enough to prevent its share from going down. The industry is growing at a faster rate compared to Sunsea’s growth. Fibocom is showing a stronger presence in 4G Cat 1 bis technology. However, Fibocom slipped out of the top five module vendors rankings due to weaker performance of NB-IoT modules.

Rolling Wireless’s and Sierra Wireless’s revenues increased 105% and 87% respectively. After spinning off from Sierra Wireless’s automotive division last year, Rolling Wireless quickly made it to the top 10 module vendors list. Rolling Wireless and Sierra Wireless have been successful in targeting specific applications, such as automotive and router/CPE respectively.

Global Cellular IoT Module Revenue Share by Module Vendor, Q4 2021

Source: Counterpoint Global Cellular IoT Module and Chipset Tracker by Application, Q4 2021

Automotive, router/CPE, industrial, PC and POS are the top five cellular IoT applications in terms of revenue. However, drones, PC and router/CPE are the top three fastest growing segments. Smart meters is another key segment but the lower ASPs of NB-IoT and 4G Cat 1 modules mean it is not among the top five IoT applications in terms of revenue.

Global Cellular IoT Module Vendor Shipment Share Rankings by Key Geographies, Q4 2021

Commenting on the regional performance of module vendors and pricing dynamics, Vice President Research Neil Shah said, “International players made a strong comeback in Q4 2021 after weaker performance in the previous quarter. Quectel, MeiG and Sunsea were the top three cellular IoT module players in China in terms of revenue. For the rest of the world, Quectel, Telit and Thales were the top three cellular IoT module players.”

Quectel is leading in most regions except Latin America, India and Japan. However, as these regions currently represent a small share of the global cellular IoT module market, it doesn’t have much impact overall. Japan’s preference for LTE-M works against Quectel.

In China, MeiG overtook Fibocom to become the second largest cellular IoT module vendor.

Neoway, another Chinese module vendor, maintained its leading position in the Indian market. Strong partnerships with smart meter manufacturers and telematics providers are helping Neoway to maintain its position.

The overall cellular IoT module ASP increased 7% sequentially due to supply chain constraints, especially in 4G modules. Chinese chipset players are trying to reduce the 5G module ASP for mass commercialization. However, 5G adoption hasn’t picked up as expected. We see 5G peaking in the global cellular IoT module market after 2025.

For detailed research, refer to the following reports available for subscribing clients and also for individual subscription:

Counterpoint tracks and forecasts on a quarterly basis 1450+ IoT module SKUs’ shipments, revenues and ASP performance across 80+ IoT module vendors, 12+ chipset players, 18+ IoT applications and 10 major geographies

*Note: We have updated regional ranking data as per industry feedback (as of Oct 2022) which indicates Quectel led in India shipment share during Q4 2021.

Background

Analyst Contacts:

Soumen Mandal

Neil Shah

Counterpoint Research

press(at)counterpointresearch.com

Related Reports:

NB-IoT Module Share in Cellular IoT Module Shipments at Record 30% in Q3 2020

Quectel, Sierra Wireless, Thales and Telit controlled more than half of the global cellular IoT module revenue.
Automotive, Router/CPE and Enterprise are the top three applications for cellular IoT modules globally in terms of revenue.
Qualcomm dominated the global cellular IoT module chipset market, capturing almost half of the market in terms of shipment volumes.

London, San Diego, Buenos Aires, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul – January 20, 2021

Global cellular IoT module revenue increased 8% QoQ but decreased 1% YoY during Q3 2020, according to the latest research by Counterpoint Global Cellular IoT Module and Chipset Tracker. The demand is yet to recover fully from the impact of COVID-19. However, all regions except the Middle East and Africa (MEA), Latin America and South Korea reported an increase in revenue. NB-IoT modules were the fastest-growing cellular IoT module segment and contributed to a record 30% of the global cellular IoT module shipment volumes in Q3 2020.

Commenting on market dynamics, Research Associate Soumen Mandal said, “Quectel, Fibocom and Neoway were the only suppliers which grew their revenues on a YoY basis. Quectel revenues grew a healthy 41%, with a balanced performance across regions widening its lead with the rest of the suppliers. Fibocom revenues grew 34% YoY on strong growth in North America, Asia and China. From the fourth quarter onwards, Fibocom will be further benefiting from the divestment of Sierra Wireless’s automotive segment. Going forward, this should push Sierra Wireless, the second-largest supplier by revenue, down a couple of notches and drive Fibocom to become one of the top three players globally.”

Exhibit 1: Global Cellular IoT Module Shipment Revenue Share, Q3 2020

Source: Global Cellular IoT Module and Chipset Tracker, Q3 2020

Mandal added: “NB-IoT now contributes to 30% of the total cellular IoT module shipment volumes but only 11% of the total revenue due to the low ASPs. At the same time, the demand for LTE Cat 4 and Cat 1 applications is also rising. Cat 1 modules are mostly being deployed in industrial, telematics, and asset-tracking applications, whereas LTE Cat 4 is seeing deployment in automotive, router/CPE and enterprise. Overall, LTE (Cat 1, Cat 4 and beyond) continues to command the lion’s share of the global cellular IoT module revenues. The share of LPWA technologies (NB-IoT and LTE-M) is steadily growing. However, the share of 5G is forecast to grow in coming quarters with the proliferation of CPEs and other applications.”

Exhibit 2: Global Cellular IoT Module Shipments by Application Revenue Share, Q3 2020

Source: Global Cellular IoT Module by Brand by Tech by Application Tracker, Q3 2020

Talking about cellular IoT applications, Research Vice President Neil Shah highlighted, “The higher ASP of automotive modules helped this segment lead the global cellular IoT module application market, followed by router/CPE, enterprise, industrial and telematics. Automotive, router/CPE and smart meters are top applications for 4G, 5G and NB-IoT respectively. Healthcare, asset tracking and telematics have been seeing some growth buoyed by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Commenting on the IoT module cellular chipset supplier landscape, Shah noted, “Qualcomm has seen a significant growth in the cellular IoT module market for its broad portfolio of cellular chipsets, which commanded almost half of the market in Q3 2020 in terms of shipments. Qualcomm is the top supplier for 4G, 5G and LPWA dual connectivity IoT applications while Mediatek is leading in NB-IoT and 2G connectivity. Hisilicon has been losing its chipset market share owing to supply shortage and the US sanctions.”

Counterpoint is tracking more than 35 IoT module vendors and 18 applications across 10 major geographies. These comprehensive and in-depth reports are a part of Counterpoint’s IoT (Internet of Things) Practice and available for download for subscribing clients.

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in technology products in the TMT industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analysis of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are experts in the industry with an average tenure of 15 years in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

Soumen Mandal

Neil Shah

Counterpoint Research

press@counterpointresearch.com

Related Posts:

Global Cellular IoT Module Shipments Decline 28% Sequentially During Q1 2020

Quectel led the global cellular IoT module shipments with 28% market share during Q1 2020
Qualcomm led the global cellular IoT module chipset shipments, capturing a third of the market
Industrial, enterprise and automotive are the top applications for cellular IoT modules

San Diego, Buenos Aires, London, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul – August 26, 2020

Global cellular IoT module shipments reduced by 4% YoY and 28% QoQ during Q1 2020 due to the negative impact of COVID-19 outbreak, according to the latest research from Counterpoint Global Cellular IoT Module and Chipset Tracker. However, IoT module shipments based on the Low Power Wireless Access (LPWA) technology increased by 51% during this quarter, offsetting the decline in automotive and other mobility applications. The falling prices, lower power consumption and extended coverage are the major reasons for growing popularity of LPWA modules among other cellular technologies.

Research Associate Soumen Mandal said: “Driven by a wider geographic reach, faster time-to-market, excellent IoT application support, aggressive marketing and a broader portfolio, with the MC, M and BC series modules performing well, Quectel managed to retain top spot in the global cellular IoT module market. However, SLM152, ME909 and SIM868 modules from Meig, Huawei and SIMCom, respectively, did well to help these brands compete with Quectel. Further, cost-effectiveness is helping other Chinese players like Fibocom, MobileTek, Lierda and Neoway to increase share in the global cellular IoT module market. International vendors such as Gemalto, Sierra, Telit and u-blox continued to maintain top rankings behind Sunsea IoT and Quectel with strongholds in North America, Europe and other developed markets.”

Exhibit 1: Global Cellular IoT Module Shipments by Brand – Q1 2020

Research Associate Anish Khajuria said: “The average price of IoT modules decreased by 12% YoY in Q1 2020. The rising demand for low-cost LPWA modules such as NB-IoT, LTE-M and LTE Cat-1 has been driving the overall IoT module ASP down. Quectel, Sierra Wireless, Gemalto, Telit and Fibocom are top five players in terms of IoT module shipment revenues globally. However, the rise of long-tail but region-focused brands like Cheerzing, Cavli Wireless, AM Telecom, Kyocera and Yuge is witnessing good traction.”

“Industrial, enterprise and automotive are top application areas for cellular IoT modules. With the rising connectivity and autonomy in automobiles, demand for 4G and 5G modules will rise in coming years,” said Senior Analyst Aman Madhok.

Madhok added: “Again, smart manufacturing and smart industry applications in the age of Industry 4.0 will see increasing demand for cellular IoT modules to reduce power consumption, increase efficiency in the production process and connect machines to cloud for optimal business planning.”

Vice-President Research Neil Shah noted: “Qualcomm is leading the share of chipset shipments powering the IoT cellular modules. Diversifying product offerings, robust supply chain network, innovation and price competitiveness have helped Qualcomm maintain collaboration with major cellular IoT module players. With the shift in focus for Intel away from the cellular modem business, coupled with significant growth in NB-IoT, LTE-M and LTE Cat-1 technologies in key markets such as China, US and Europe, growth opportunities open up for other chipset brands. MediaTek, UNISOC, Hisilicon, Sony (Altair Semi) and newer players such as ASR and Nordic Semi will look to increase their overall market share globally.”

Exhibit 2: Global Cellular IoT Module Shipments by Chipset Vendor – Q1 2020

Commenting on future deployments, Research Associate Fahad Siddiqui said: “China will dominate the global cellular IoT module market in coming years, with North America and western Europe emerging as important markets. With more deployments of 5G network around the world, the demand for 5G modules will increase. Connected vehicles, CPEs and routers for FWA, industrial robots and video surveillance will be some of the key 5G IoT module driven applications, especially in markets such as North America, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and UK initially.”

The comprehensive and in-depth ‘Global Cellular IoT Module and Chipset Tracker 2018Q1-2020Q1’ report is a part of Counterpoint’s IoT (Internet of Things) Service. The report is available for download here for subscribing clients.

Background:

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in Technology products in the TMT industry. It services major technology firms and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analysis of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are experts in the industry with an average tenure of 13 years in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

Soumen Mandal

Neil Shah

Aman Madhok

Anish Khajuria

Fahad Siddiqui

Counterpoint Research

press@counterpointresearch.com

Global Household Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Subscribers to Cross Half a Billion Mark by 2030

5G FWA will account for almost 90% of FWA connections by 2030

Europe will be the top region in terms of 5G FWA subscriptions

San Diego, Buenos Aires, London, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul – August 6, 2020

Fixed wireless access (FWA) is emerging as one of the leading use cases for 5G New Radio (NR) architecture, rapidly gaining momentum as a scalable alternative to fixed broadband, according to the latest research from Counterpoint Research’s Emerging Technology Opportunities (ETO) Practice. Counterpoint Research predicts that FWA (4G+5G) subscriptions will rise from a 4% share of the consumer broadband market today to account for nearly a third of the household broadband market and cross half a billion subscriptions by 2030.

Less than half of households globally have access to fixed broadband and there is a lot of pent-up demand for fixed broadband at home. Counterpoint estimates that 45.1% of households worldwide had dedicated broadband access by the end of 2019. If we exclude China and the US, this penetration drops to 28%, indicating a lot of room for growth.

Commenting on this emerging trend, Senior Analyst Tina Lu notes: “A lot of the pent-up demand for broadband comes from the “Next Billion” segment, which comprises large parts of the population across both developed and emerging markets that are still not connected to the internet. Further, COVID-19 has accelerated the need for consumers to acquire fast and stable broadband access beyond smartphones. Besides, the existing broadband users also need to upgrade to faster networks capable of stable download and upload connections. The fiber and other fixed wired broadband connectivity remain elusive for many of these consumers. Hence, the increased availability of FWA will enable the Communication Service Provider (CSP) community to offer broadband services over the 5G NR spectrum and network architecture to different corners of the world, adequately addressing this need”.

5G Consumer Household FWA Subscribers by Region

Source: Counterpoint Research Broadband Subscribers Tracker by Technology and Regions, July 2020

Lu further adds: “Global consumer 5G FWA will reach more than 50 million connection in 2025 and increase to more than 450 million in 2030. North America and Asia are leading the 5G FWA subscription base in 2020, representing more than 75% of total connections. Deployment of mmWave in metro areas and CBRS in the rural and remote areas is driving FWA growth in the US. However, by 2030, Europe will have the largest 5G FWA installed base, mainly upgrade from its massive DSL subscriber base.”

There are several CSPs around the world that have launched or are conducting trials of 5G FWA. Starting with the Verizon launch, several CSPs have begun trialing FWA solutions to launch over the next 12 to 15 months with broader and denser coverage. The US and Europe are seeing most of the activity with countries like the US, Germany, UK, Italy, France, and Switzerland among the leading markets for prospective FWA launches. There is also activity in markets as far apart as South Africa, Turkey, and Canada. In the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand among others have launched FWA services.

However, a CSP should consider some key points when planning to deploy 5G FWA. Consulting Director and lead author Shiv Putcha note: “New spectrum availability is one of the primary drivers for FWA momentum around the world. Most of the FWA activity taking place in EMEA and Asia is in the sub-6 GHz frequency bands while the US is focused on the mid-band mmWave spectrum. CSPs can now leverage their licensed spectrum assets more efficiently for offering alternatives to fixed broadband, thereby opening up a new segment for mobile CSPs in particular. This will especially be true for the mmWave frequencies which offer significantly higher channel widths and much higher capacity. The increased availability of FWA will also enable CSPs to offer broadband over one network, as opposed to building fixed and mobile networks side by side. That said, CSPs need to have focus and identify the correct revenue model to ensure that the business case holds up. Once they finalize their strategy, CSPs will need to carefully dimension their networks to ensure adequate resource availability to their installed base of (Customer Premises Equipment) CPEs.”

The global migration to LTE has laid an excellent foundation for the viability of FWA and will become an early and viable use case for 5G. However, there are challenges, particularly on the implementation side, which will be addressed as we progress towards the next decade of 5G rollouts and better network planning.

Commenting on 5G FWA network infrastructure best performance, Associated Research Director Gareth Owen said: “Using more plentiful high-frequency mmWave spectrum and leveraging beamforming and lower latencies, 5G FWA will be able to provide much higher performance than 4G FWA. It will also offer guaranteed service levels, making FWA competitive with fiber-based broadband networks.”

FWA as one of the early use cases for 5G is already well established. So, much of this growth will be built on the new capabilities that CSPs are building in terms of network architecture as they upgrade to 5G, first in the NSA mode, and ultimately to the SA mode in a few years. While Counterpoint has projected nearly half a billion FWA subscriptions by 2030, this only covers the consumer segment. Significant potential exists for CSPs in other areas.

Detailed analysis on FWA momentum, adoption, opportunities, ecosystem growth, and the outlook is available for licensing here.

Analyst Contacts:

Tina Lu

Neil Shah

Shiv Putcha

Gareth Owen

Follow Counterpoint Research
press(at)counterpointresearch.com

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