Global cellular IoT module shipments saw their first-ever annual decline in 2023, falling 2% year on year, according to Counterpoint’s latest report; Quectel saw its market share fall while Fibocom witnessed double-digit growth and Telit Cinterion entered the top five.

Inventory adjustments following supply chain disruption and reduced demand in some key market verticals such as industrial and enterprise were some of the key factors driving this decline.

4G Cat 1 bis grew the fastest in 2023, capturing over 22% of the shipments. In China, 4G Cat 1 bis has now become the primary cellular standard for PoS, smart meter, telematics and asset trackingnmarkets, owing to its affordability and energy efficiency. The market is slowly transitioning from 4G Cat 1 and NB-IoT to more efficient 4G Cat 1 bis.

“India and China have shown positive growth due to increasing demand in the smart meter, PoS and asset tracking markets,” said Counterpoint associate director Mohit Agrawal. “Conversely, the rest of the world witnessed a sharper decline, indicating a lack of expected market momentum. Around 12% of the modules shipped in 2023 were equipped with AI capabilities at the software or hardware level. These modules are gaining popularity in high-end markets such as automotive, router, CPE and PC, facilitating the management of the escalating data load in these sectors.”

Quectel, the leading module vendor, experienced a decline in its market share primarily because of weakened demand in markets outside China. The company has partnered with Syrma SGS Technology to manufacture IoT modules in India.

China Mobile and Fibocom experienced double-digit YoY growth. China Mobile’s growth was driven by smart meters, asset trackers and PoS applications, while Fibocom’s growth was driven by PoS and telematics applications.

The merger between Telit and Thales propelled Telit Cinterion into the top five vendors of IoT modules. To solidify its presence in India, Telit partnered with VVDN for local production.

Several Chinese brands such as Unionman, OpenLuat, Lierda and Neoway have shown significant growth within specialised markets such as smart meter, asset tracking and PoS.

“In 2024, the IoT module market is expected to return to growth in the second half of the year with normalising inventory levels and increasing demand in the smart meter, PoS and automotive segments,” said research analyst Anish Khajuria. “Moreover, substantial growth is forecasted for 2025, coinciding with the widespread adoption of 5G and 5G redcap technologies in smart meters, routers, CPE, PoS systems, automotive and asset tracking applications.”

More on the report can be found at: www.counterpointresearch.com/research_portal/global-cellular-iot-module-and-chipset-tracker-by-application-q4-2023.