IoT will have little impact on revenue for most mobile operators
IoT has become a persistent theme in telecoms industry conversations. Few strategy plans for operators do not mention IoT, and for some operators (including, Orange, Verizon and Vodafone), IoT is of central importance. This focus is understandable: although the worldwide mobile telecoms industry is only forecast to grow at a 1% CAGR between 2016 and 2025, Analysys Mason has calculated that revenue from IoT solutions enabled by mobile operators (that is, the total spend – including devices, applications and connectivity – on IoT devices with a SIM) will exceed USD200 billion in 2025, representing a CAGR of 18%. This is equivalent to 22% of the total spend on mobile services worldwide (USD888 billion) for the same year.
However, IoT connectivity revenue will only reach USD28 billion by 2025, representing just 3% of worldwide mobile telecoms revenue. If IoT is to become a new growth area within the telecoms industry, it will need to contribute significantly more revenue to the overall business than connectivity alone can generate. Read more…
