Annual Market for Global Smart City Communication Networks to Reach $13.4 Billion in 2027

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A new report from Navigant Research examines the market for smart city communication networks across the energy, water, mobility, buildings, and government sectors, providing global forecasts through 2027. The global market for smart city communication networks is expected to grow from $5.8 billion in 2018 to $13.4 billion in 2027.

In smart cities, the evolution of communication networks—which connect the sensors, controllers, cameras, and other hardware infrastructure capturing valuable data from the city environment—serves as a fundamental building block for further market development. As the global smart city market moves into a period of increasing maturity, a growing focus on underlying communication networks are presenting more options for a variety of use cases, each meeting unique connectivity needs. 

“Ultimately, cities will need several different types of communication networks to execute on any comprehensive smart city strategy,” says Ryan Citron, senior research analyst with Navigant Research. “While there will be space in the market for many connectivity options to coexist, all stakeholders should recognize the importance that 5G networks will take on in the coming decades, particularly if emerging low power cellular options are recognized as part of the 5G portfolio.” 

According to the report, a wide range of communication network options exist today, including fiber, radio frequency (RF) mesh, cellular, Wi-Fi, power line communications (PLC), and low power wide area networks (LPWANs) such as LoRa and Sigfox. With the Internet of Things (IoT) market set to expand over the next 10 years, there is a need for continued evolution of these networks and increasing interest in emerging cellular offerings such as 5G networks, Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), and LTE-Cat-M1. 

The report, Smart City Communication Networks Market Overview, analyzes the challenges and opportunities for smart city communication networks, with a focus on the five main sectors: smart energy, smart water, smart mobility, smart buildings, and smart government. The study explores the market issues and dynamics associated with smart city communications and covers the viewpoint of communication service providers, communication infrastructure vendors, IT vendors, and city governments. Global market forecasts, segmented by region and industry sector, extend through 2027. The report also examines the key communication technologies related to smart city communication infrastructure, as well as the competitive landscape. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the Navigant Research website.