The NB-IoT chipset market is expected to grow from $461m in 2020 to $2484m by 2025 at a CAGR of 40%, according to ReportLinker.

Increasing demand for wearable devices due to Covid-19 and growth in connected devices, followed by widening penetration of IoT devices are the key drivers for the growth of this market. Increasing participation of industry players in the development of NB-IoT and widening applications of NB-IoT technology are the other factors fuelling growth.

However, stiff competition from other LPWA technologies, and privacy and security concerns are among the major factors restraining the growth of the NB-IoT chipset market.

In the stand-alone deployment type, NB-IoT is deployed in a dedicated frequency band. The stand-alone deployment type uses new bandwidth instead of sharing the existing LTE bandwidth.

It is considered an option when LTE is deployed in a higher band and GSM is still in use to provide coverage for basic services. Moreover, with the growth in the number of NB-IoT-connected devices, the standalone deployment technique, using new bandwidth, is likely to be used

The growing adoption of water, gas and electricity smart meters, and favourable government reforms are boosting the implementation of smart meters across the world. Moreover, the demand for long battery life, and low and intermittent data transmission, have fuelled the adoption of NB-IoT technology for smart metering.

Increasing adoption of NB-IoT technology for smart parking application is accelerating its market growth. For instance, in 2018, Deutsche Telekom  initiated deployment of NB-IoT-enabled devices to improve the smart parking system across Hamburg.

The energy and utilities segment is expected to hold the largest size of NB-IoT chipset market by 2025. Massive adoption of NB-IoT-enabled smart meters is driving the growth of this market.

Favourable federal mandates in various countries are further driving the growth of the NB-IoT-enabled smart meters. However, the disruptions due to the pandemic will result in a decline in annual smart meter shipments in 2020.

Most of the energy and water utilities have temporarily delayed smart meter installations and have re-allocated resources to field service operations to ensure continuity of services for end customers. Service providers and utilities have followed government regulations related to social distancing and lockdown throughout the pandemic.

This has led to a reduction in the number of smart meter installations, especially in the first half of 2020.

Growing adoption of NB-IoT technology in North America and developed IT infrastructure is expected to boost the growth of this market in this region. Moreover, established LTE-M network and availability of dual-mode NB-IoT chipsets offering Cat-M1 and Cat-NB1 and NB2 connectivity are expected to complement the growth of NB-IoT chipsets in the region.

T-Mobile (USA), Verizon (USA), AT&T (USA) and Bell (Canada) are expected to be the key NB-IoT services providers in the region. Furthermore, increasing participation of key industry players such as Qualcomm (USA) and Nordic Semiconductor (Norway) to build dual-mode-only chipsets is expected to complement the growth of NB-IoT in Europe and North America.

The rising number of Covid-19 cases in North America is leading to the increasing demand for IoT in healthcare applications and provides opportunities for the growth of the NB-IoT chipset market in the region.