IoT coverage expands worldwide, approaching reality on a global scale
A new report, available for free registration, provides actionable guidance for global product deployment and device management in the Internet of Things (IoT) sector. The analysis, provided by Transforma Insights, sheds light on the integration of various technologies, including cellular, satellite, and LoRaWAN, in leading enterprise IoT strategies.
Hybrid Connectivity for Maximized Coverage and Cost Efficiency
Enterprises are leveraging a combination of cellular IoT, satellite IoT, and LoRaWAN to address diverse connectivity needs. Cellular IoT, with its wide existing coverage and growing adoption, leads urban and densely populated environments. Meanwhile, satellite IoT fills connectivity gaps in remote, rural, and infrastructure-limited regions, offering global, low-power, low-bandwidth coverage for dispersed assets. LoRaWAN often complements these networks by providing low-power, long-range connectivity for local and regional IoT use cases such as smart cities and agriculture.
Cellular IoT: A Growing Market with Strategic Importance
The cellular IoT market is expanding rapidly, with 3.8 billion cellular IoT subscriptions worldwide in 2024 and projected to rise to 6.4 billion by 2029. China dominates this space, driven by government-led initiatives for wide-scale IoT deployment addressing societal challenges like traffic and energy management. Cellular IoT connectivity revenues are forecasted to grow notably, though average revenue per user (ARPU) slightly declines.
Satellite IoT: A Critical Enabler for Remote Monitoring
Satellite-enabled IoT connects sectors and geographies beyond cellular reach, essential for smart agriculture, logistics, maritime, and environmental monitoring. The emergence of low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations is making satellite IoT more affordable and scalable. This technology supports ESG initiatives and climate resilience by enabling emissions tracking and biodiversity monitoring in remote regions, thereby enhancing supply chain transparency and digital infrastructure resilience.
LoRaWAN's Role in Low-Power, Localized IoT Networks
While not detailed extensively in the search results, LoRaWAN is acknowledged as a key technology for low-power wide area networking, ideal for smart city sensor deployments, industrial automation, and agriculture monitoring where long battery life and site-specific data transmission are crucial. Often, LoRaWAN integrates with cellular and satellite networks for backhaul connectivity.
Security and Interoperability as Strategic Priorities
Across all technologies, IoT security is vital due to the increasing number of connected devices and their vulnerability to cyber threats. Enterprises emphasize robust security frameworks incorporating encryption, multi-factor authentication, and compliance with standards such as NIST, ISO/IEC 27001, and Zero Trust Architecture. Additionally, standards convergence (e.g., Project Haystack, Brick Schema, ASHRAE 223P, Matter protocol) promotes interoperability among diverse IoT systems, enabling more seamless integration of heterogeneous networks including cellular, satellite, and LoRaWAN.
The Future of IoT Connectivity: A Single Provider Solution
The integration market is expanding rapidly, with IoT integration expected to grow at over 31% CAGR through 2034, exceeding $72 billion. A single provider can simplify technology stack by offering device management, cloud services, and cellular connectivity, reducing complexity and total cost of ownership (TCO). Leading enterprises are implementing integrated strategies for IoT, combining cellular, satellite, and LoRaWAN technologies.
Semtech's Vision for IoT Strategies
Semtech's recent acquisition of Sierra Wireless further supports the theme of convergence and simplification in the IoT sector. Semtech's vision for IoT is a key aspect of the report, with the company aiming to transform IoT connectivity. The report discusses the vision of Semtech for IoT strategies and offers insights into the future of IoT strategies.
In summary, global enterprises are pursuing hybrid IoT connectivity architectures combining cellular, satellite, and LoRaWAN to maximize coverage, cost efficiency, security, and operational resilience, thus enabling ambitious digital transformation and sustainability goals across multiple industry verticals. A centralized Critical Control Centre is offered with a bundled offering from a single provider, further simplifying the technology landscape. Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) and LoRaWAN are being redefined in the future of IoT. Transforma Insights and Semtech have provided analysis for this report on ubiquitous IoT strategies.
Data-and-cloud-computing plays a significant role in supporting the growing hybrid IoT connectivity strategies, with enterprises utilizing cloud platforms for managing device data from various connectivity technologies, including cellular, satellite, and LoRaWAN.
Technology advancements across these networks have empowered global product deployment and device management in the IoT sector, enabling enterprises to address diverse connectivity needs and facilitate their digital transformation efforts.
