According to a new research report from IoT analyst firm Berg Insight, annual shipments of cellular IoT modules amounted to 514 million units in 2024. This is an increase of 22 percent from the previous year.

Annual sales increased by 13 percent to US$ 6.0 billion in the year. Until 2029, shipments of cellular IoT modules are forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11 percent to 866 million units.

After the cellular IoT module market declined in 2023 largely due to high inventory levels among customers, the market recovered in 2024. This was driven by strong demand in China and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region.

The European and North American markets have remained comparatively weak. This has primarily affected Western module makers. Module sales in these regions picked up at the second half of the year, a trend that Berg expects to continue throughout 2025.

Berg estimates that the five largest cellular module vendors – Quectel, Fibocom, Telit Cinterion, Rolling Wireless and MeiG – hold a 71 percent share of the market in terms of revenues.

According to Berg, the geopolitical environment has had limited impact on the cellular module vendor landscape so far. China-based vendors have continued to gain market share in the year. Cost has so far outweighed concerns over origin and ownership. However, mounting regulatory scrutiny, especially in North America, could shift the balance.

Recent deals such as Fibocom’s divestment of its international module business Rolling Wireless, Quectel’s licensing partnership with Eagle Electronics and Qualcomm’s purchase of Sequans’ 4G LTE IoT product line reflect efforts to navigate an increasingly complex landscape.

There are also heightened supply chain stability concerns among some Western IoT solution providers, prompting moves to de-risk their supply chains through dual sourcing or selecting regional alternatives.