Cellular and LPWA IoT Device Ecosystems - 9th Edition

The Internet of Things is continuously evolving and expanding into new domains. By the end of 2024, approximately 4.3 billion devices were connected to wide area networks based on cellular or LPWA technologies. The market is highly diverse and divided into multiple ecosystems. This report focuses on the most prominent technology ecosystems for wide area IoT networking - the 3GPP ecosystem of cellular technologies and the LPWA technologies LoRa and Sigfox - as well as a group of emerging LPWA technologies including IEEE 802.15.4-based protocols, Wirepas Mesh, DECT-2020 NR (NR+) and Mioty.

Cellular IoT module shipments reached 514 million in 2024

The research forecasts that shipments of Sigfox devices will grow at a CAGR of 38.8 percent from 2.2 million units in 2024 to 11.4 million units by 2029. Emerging LPWA device ecosystems such as IEEE 802.15.4, Wirepas Mesh, Mioty and NR+ have the potential to grow into significant IoT networking platforms in the coming years. So far, IEEE 802.15.4 has achieved the most widespread adoption. The technology is the most mature in the group and has gained support from several of the leading smart metering vendors. Wirepas Mesh counted an installed base of 12 million in early 2025 and has been used in a number of large-scale projects. Mioty has in the last few years started to gain traction within smart water metering and has reached an installed base of 1 million. DECT-2020 NR (NR+) is an even more nascent technology, deployed primarily in pilot projects. 

The 3GPP family of cellular technologies supports the largest ecosystem in wide area IoT networking. The research estimates that the global number of cellular IoT subscribers amounted to 3.8 billion at the end of 2024 - corresponding to 30 percent of all mobile subscribers. Yearly shipments of cellular IoT modules amounted to 514 million units in 2024, up 22 percent year-on year. Annual cellular IoT module revenues grew by 13 percent to US$ 6.0 billion. The five largest cellular module vendors - Quectel, Fibocom, Telit Cinterion, Rolling Wireless and MeiG - held a market share of 71 percent in terms of revenues. Qualcomm, ASR Microelectronics and UNISOC are the main cellular IoT chipset suppliers. Other important cellular IoT chipset providers include Eigencomm, MediaTek, Sony and Xinyi Information Technology.

IoT-optimised 4G LTE technologies dominate the cellular IoT technology landscape as LTE Cat1/LTE Cat-1 bis, NB-IoT and LTE-M replace 2G and 3G technologies in the low- to mid-market segments. LTE Cat-4 and higher Cat LTE-A technologies remain the main alternative for highspeed IoT devices but will over time be replaced by 5G as network coverage and pricing improves. 5G IoT devices are today largely concentrated to FWA CPEs, IoT routers as well as cars from front-running automotive OEMs. 5G RedCap modules will in time enable a broader set of 5G IoT use cases. Uptake of the technology is expected to be limited in the short term due to the price gap to 4G LTE Cat-4/6 modules and 5G SA network coverage requirements.

Cellular IoT module shipments are forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.0 percent to reach 866 million units by 2029. LoRa is gaining momentum as a global connectivity platform for IoT devices. Cumulative shipments of LoRa end nodes reached 410 million at the beginning of 2025. The majority of demand comes from devices deployed in private networks, which remain the dominant deployment model for LoRa networks. Major volume application segments are smart gas and water metering, where LoRa’s low power consumption matches the requirements for long-life battery operation. The technology is also widely used for metropolitan and local area IoT deployments for networking of smart sensors and tracking devices in cities, industrial plants and commercial buildings. Smart home is expected to become a major application area in the coming years, driven by Amazon’s Sidewalk network in the US. The research estimates that yearly shipments of LoRa devices amounted to 60 million units in 2024.

Until 2029, yearly shipments are forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 16.5 percent to reach 129 million units. The Singapore-based Sigfox operator UnaBiz took over as the new owner of Sigfox in 2022, setting a new direction for the Sigfox technology and operating model for the business. At the end of 2024, the installed base of Sigfox devices reached 14.2 million, up 14 percent from the previous year. The research believes that the critical test for Sigfox will be how the technology is received in the asset tracking segment. In addition, sensor solutions in different industries is one of the most promising application areas for the technology.

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 2024.
• Adoption trends for LPWA technologies including NB-IoT, LTE-M, LoRa and Sigfox.
• Cellular and non-3GPP LPWA IoT device market forecasts until 2029.

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 mass-volume segments can be addressed by low-cost LPWA technologies?
• Which IoT applications will drive the adoption of 5G Reduced Capability (RedCap) devices?
• What is the current installed base of LoRa and Sigfox devices?
• Why are the standards LTE-M and NB-IoT so significant for the cellular IoT ecosystem?
• What are the prospects for LPWA technology standards?