Omdia’s latest research has revealed that NB-IoT and LoRa will account for 87% of all LPWAN connections in 2028 strengthening their position further. The two technologies together dominate the LPWAN market with over 85% of the connections worldwide. Both technologies are in the sweet spot for mid-range IoT applications that are popular now. With sufficient differentiation between the two technologies, both are on track for success through the end of Omdia’s forecast in 2028.
Commenting on the growth of LPWAN Shobhit Srivastava, Senior Principal Analyst added – “At the end of 2022, more than 90% of global NB-IoT connections were in China. Outside of China, the adoption of the NB-IoT standard has been slow. With a matured NB-IoT ecosystem driven by government regulations, China will continue to be the main driver of NB-IoT market adoption in the foreseeable future. Due to technical challenges, popular NB-IoT use cases have been limited to stationary use cases. The most popular NB-IoT applications are smart meters and utilities (water/gas/electricity) and connected spaces (smart cities).”
As NB-IoT gains popularity in Europe, providers like Telefonica and DT are investing in satellite-based NB-IoT connectivity to cover remote areas and bling spots that maximize the potential of IoT connectivity. Government regulations such as the Spanish national traffic authority, the DGT requirement to carry the new style V16 warning beacons from January 1, 2026, will further fuel growth in the region. Telefonica and other partners will provide the connectivity and hardware elements. Telefonica is utilizing Sateliot’s solution to develop a dual 5G NB-IoT connectivity service that integrates the satellite network with existing terrestrial networks to provide ubiquitous connectivity.
Srivastava added that “LoRaWAN has had several years of unchallenged growth, building momentum, and gaining maturity. It’s success in the future remains as it has differentiated offerings and a value that NB-IoT cannot easily match. LoRa has unmatched accessibility for companies deploying IoT applications. This accessibility has made LoRaWAN one of the favorites of small developers, the maker community, and over-the-top (OTT) IoT networks, such as The Things Network.”
