“LPWAN is on the verge of take-off, as cellular LPWAN technologies are introduced and will see an expansion of 94% CAGR across the next 7 years, reaching $19.1bn dollars of annual revenue in 2023.”
This report breaks down the key opportunities in LPWAN by use case and then in detail describes which technologies will capture what share of each use case and why; calculating the effect of licensed technology on the existing LPWAN market. However, the process of working through each use case separately shows only a limited number of verticals which cellular LPWAN technologies are appropriate for.
Technology vendors all expressed inflated views of their own market, across multiple user cases, but we have not been tempted to repeat those claims here and we are clear that previous forecasts have overcooked the market, predicting astronomical figures. Those forecasts are in line with vendor estimates we have been given, but it is clear that there is overlap between the forecasts and some double counting is going on.
There will continue to be room in the market for both Licensed and unlicensed LPWANs, however, those in the unlicensed technology ecosystem should take seriously the arrival of NB-IoT and LTE-M, and adjust their business to target the available vertical spaces we have identified.
Most of this growth will be supported by the performance of NB-IoT, LTE-M and Wi-SUN technologies. Proprietary LPWAN will have to adjust to the reality of a post cellular LPWAN world, targeting verticals which licensed technology is not suited for.
LoRa has seen a recent uptick, which we believe will continue, over the next 7 years. Sigfox’s trajectory remains consistent, and the technology will continue to grow at its current rate – but not accelerate.
Companies in the Wi-SUN ecosystem are set to enjoy continued growth at 20% CAGR, as mesh network technology begins to reach into new verticals and different business models are attempted.
Companies interviewed for this report:
Altair, Cisco, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, GSMA, Qualcomm, Huawei, Homerider, Ingenu, Nokia, Orange, Semtech, LoRa Alliance, Sequans, Sigfox, Silver Springs, Telit, U-blox, Weightless, Wi-SUN
Chloe Spring (Marketing Manager): [email protected]
Office Phone: +44 (0)1179 257019