Global cellular IoT module shipments rose 10% year-on-year in Q3 2025, driven by strong momentum in smart metering, asset tracking, routers, CPE and automotive, according to Counterpoint Research.

India, the Middle East and Africa led the market expansion.

Cat-1 bis solidified its position as the world’s volume anchor, accounting for almost half of all shipments, while RedCap moved into early commercialisation with operators beginning certifications and pilots.

Industry momentum is shifting towards higher-value, AI-enabled IoT, as vendors invest in edge intelligence, secure software and 5G-ready portfolios amid tightening margins and falling ASPs.

The market remained on a growth trajectory, with the ongoing shift from legacy RF and PLC systems to cellular accelerating, laying the foundation for the next phase of capability-driven IoT deployments. At the same time, Q3 2025 underscored a tighter profitability environment. Cash-flow strength is emerging as a key differentiator.

As ASPs decline, only vendors with solid liquidity can keep investing in RedCap, AI-capable products and customer support without compromising margins.

“During the quarter, growth was concentrated in emerging and price-sensitive markets,” said senior analyst Tina Lu. “India grew 40% YoY, sustaining its multi-quarter momentum driven by smart metering, PoS and telematics. MEA had the second-best performance, from a small basis, supported by national utility modernisation programmes and router and CPE applications. Parts of Latam expanded on the back of telematics and smart meter demand.”

Lu added that mature markets showed modest but stable performance.

“China grew 7% YoY, supported by smart meters, PoS and Cat-1 bis–based deployments,” Lu said. “Europe grew 11% YoY, driven by automotive, router, CPEs and second-wave AMI rollouts. Meanwhile, North America rose just 4% YoY, reflecting cautious enterprise spending.”

Quectel maintained its global leadership with a strong share in China and overseas markets. China Mobile held second place, benefiting from operator-driven domestic demand. Sunsea (SIMCom + Longsung) ranked third, supported by PoS and metering shipments.

Lierda delivered 73% YoY growth, powered by Cat-1bis and expanding penetration in South Korea and south-east Asia.

Outside China, Telit Cinterion remained the top international vendor, supported by telematics, healthcare and energy deployments in Europe and North America.

On the silicon side, Qualcomm remained dominant in 5G and high-end LTE, while ASR, Unisoc and Eigencomm strengthened their grip on the Cat-1bis market.

“Cat-1bis has become the global standard for high-volume IoT, accounting for almost half of all shipments in Q3 2025,” said research director Mohit Agrawal. “RedCap is entering its commercial phase, but meaningful volume will follow only when pricing approaches Cat-4 and Cat-6 levels and 5G SA coverage becomes widespread. When these conditions intersect, RedCap will begin a broad replacement cycle for legacy 4G.”

Agrawal added that demand for AI-capable IoT modules was rising across surveillance, automotive, industrial and retail segments.

“This trend is now clearly visible in the product portfolios of Quectel, Fibocom and MeiG, who are prioritising feature-rich modules with integrated AI accelerators, edge-processing capabilities and secure OS frameworks,” said Agrawal. “The value in IoT is shifting from connectivity hardware towards edge intelligence and lifecycle services.”

For more on the report, go to counterpointresearch.com/en/reports/global-cellular-iot-module-tracker-q3-2025.