High Demand from Consumer Segment to Boost the NB-IoT Chipset Market

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Technavio market research analysts forecast the global narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) chipset marketto grow at an impressive CAGR of close to 61% during the forecast period, according to their latest report.

The market study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global NB-IoT chipset market for 2017-2021. The report also lists consumer, smart meters, smart buildings, agriculture/environment, automotive, as the five major application segments. In 2016, the NB-IoT chipset market was dominated by the consumer segment with a market with a market share of close to 35%.

Technavio analysts highlight the following three market drivers that are contributing to the growth of the global NB-IoT chipset market:

• Increasing adoption of M2M communication
• Demand for low-power, low-cost technologies
• Increasing requirements for long-range connectivity

Technavio’s sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report including the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more.

Increasing adoption of M2M communication

M2M communication is the communication that is required for exchange of information between devices without any manual assistance. Sensors are integrated into a machine, and these sensors are used to obtain data and record information. NB-IoT technology is steadily replacing the conventional M2M channel technologies, such as Bluetooth, DSL, and WLAN, in applications that require low data rates and long-range connectivity.

According to Raghu Raj Singh, a lead analyst at Technavio for embedded systems research, “M2M connections required for smart meters, smart parking, smart agriculture, and smart buildings have low data rates. Therefore, they require a technology that has been built to support low data rates. The NB-IoT technology, therefore, is an ideal choice as it works at low data rates (10s of kbps) and also in the 200-kHz spectrum. NB-IoT modules also have a battery life of 10 years.”

Demand for low-power, low-cost technologies

The technological landscape has seen the introduction of several new wireless technologies that are expected to become the most important communication technologies, which will be required to support IoT and M2M applications and play an important role in the deployment of 5G. Vendors are focusing on adopting technologies that consume less power and are affordable, which reduces the overall cost of production.

Also, several new LPWA applications are being identified. Several low-power wide area (LPWA) applications are being used in smart meters, smart parking, smart grids, and wearable devices. Since these devices require low power consumption, the NB-IoT technology is one of the best technologies that can be incorporated into them. 

Increasing requirements for long-range connectivity

Another major driver for the growth of the global NB-IoT chipset market is the increasing demand for long-range connectivity solutions. Long-range connectivity solutions indicate that the information can be passed between two devices that are at distant locations. This is extremely useful in cases where the device is in an inaccessible region. For example, consider the installation of utility meters (such as electricity and water) in houses. If the house is located on a hilltop, it will be difficult for the personnel to take the utility meter reading. This makes it an expensive and energy-intensive task.

“As NB-IoT chipsets have long-range connectivity, they allow the personnel to obtain the information from a faraway distance. This information can be directly sent to the customer through smartphone applications. NB-IoT chipsets also have excellent coverage in underground locations as they have a high level of penetration,” says Raghu.

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