From a numerical perspective, the consumer sector is expected to experience the most impressive growth, as the number of devices is expected to approach 10 billion in 2027. This increase reflects the growth of a consumer’s home ecosystem built around multiple devices, with smart speakers serving as controls. More and more points of lighting, security, and entertainment systems are communicating with each other using protocols such as IFTTT (If This Then That) and Matter. But as the graph above shows, business applications will be the focus. The commercial and industrial electronics sector will experience significant growth. Also, the number of medical IoT devices is expected to double during the five-year forecast period, with a five-year CAGR of 16.7%, the fastest growing of any segment. This rapid increase is likely to be driven by trends such as the growth of home health care and telemedicine, and the proliferation of medical devices equipped with sensors that can remotely monitor patient vital signs such as heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure.
From simple sensors that read bridge vibrations to 4K cameras that track traffic movements and pedestrians, IoT devices place different demands on networks in terms of energy usage, speed, and latency. Given the increasing demand for high-speed, low-latency networks across a growing range of industries, networks need to be as efficient and scalable as possible. Telcos are looking to strengthen their ability to achieve these attributes by partnering with experts across their ecosystem. Organizations that lead the IoT will transform from standalone telcos to ecosystems of telcos and technology companies, each with complementary strengths. In a B2B context, there will be more emphasis on private networks, networks that connect on-site IoT devices (sensors, cameras, etc.) to analytics and robotics. These will require a bundle of services from cloud, communications, hardware and software providers, including edge computing services, security and integration, and private network installation and operation. Deploying such services requires a customer-centric, consultative sales approach. And different types of players will compete to provide private networks, including telcos, technology companies, neutral host providers, system integrators, and OEMs.
