ABI Research says LoRaWAN and Sigfox will hold the leading share of LPWAN networks connections until at least 2024, but by 2026 cellular technologies NB-IoT and LTE-M will account for 60 percent of its estimate of 3.6 billion LPWAN network connections.
However, ABI Research expect LoRa and Sigfox to account for over 80 percent of the non-cellular LPWAN network connections by 2026.
The research firm says, in 2018, NB-IoT and LTE-M were plagued by network hardware and connectivity module issues, driving enterprises and OEMs to delay deployment of NB-IoT and LTE-M applications, including eSIM/iSIM.
It says these uncertainties have delayed the commercial rollout of cellular LPWA IoT solutions by 12 to 18 months, to the benefit of Sigfox and LoRaWAN, both of which have witnessed a substantial increase in adoption from device OEMs and IoT solution vendors.
“LoRa technology adoption in 2018 was dominated by growth in IoT connections from private networks, with 75 percent year-on-year growth,” ABI says.
Multivendor LoRaWAN ecosystem
“LoRa has benefited from a multivendor ecosystem of gateway OEMs such as Multi-tech, Kerlink, Cisco, and Tektelic offering a wide array of gateway solutions which reduced network total cost of ownership for enterprises.”
According to ABI Research LoRaWAN’s flexibility in network deployment — private or public — has been a decisive factor in its early adoption by utilities and manufacturing companies that have traditionally been advocates of private networks.
“However, even as LoRa’s private network footprint continues to expand, connection growth in public networks will outpace private networks connecting the majority of LoRa devices by 2026,” it says.
ABI Research expects LoRaWAN devices to have the majority share of non-cellular LPWA connections by 2026, followed by Sigfox.
“The main drivers of Sigfox connections were growth in home security, smart metering, and asset tracking applications. With an extensive network footprint in Europe, Sigfox had a leading share of LPWA connections in the region and will continue to have a leading share of European non-cellular LPWA connections,” it says.
Sigfox gains from roaming support
ABI notes that Sigfox, is currently the only commercially available LPWAN network to support tracking of assets across multiple regions. It says there have been several successful implementations from companies such as Groupe PSA, Total SA, Guerlain, BPW Group, Luis Vuitton, and Michelin to track assets from containers, trailers, reusable pallets, boxes, and bags.
It is tipping Sigfox connections to exceed 430 million end-points by 2026, with significant growth coming from asset tracking applications.
