Shipments of Cellular IoT Gateways Will Reach 8 Million by 2023

More than 3.4 million cellular IoT gateways were shipped globally during 2018, at a total market value of approximately $921 million, according to Berg Insights research. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.5 percent, annual shipments are expected to reach 8.0 million in 2023.

North American vendors dominate the cellular IoT gateway and router market. Cradlepoint, Cisco, Sierra Wireless, CalAmp and Digi International are the largest vendors worldwide. Combined, these five vendors generated close to $500 million in annual revenues from cellular IoT gateway and router sales during 2018, accounting for a market share of 53.3 percent.

The European and Asia Pacific markets are fragmented with a large number of small and medium sized players that generate annual revenues in the range of US$ 3-10 million. The North American market is dominated by a handful of major vendors, largely due to entry barriers in the form of carrier certifications required for cellular devices in the region.

“North America experienced the fastest growth globally during 2018, driven by deployments in the public safety, transportation and retail sectors“, said Fredrik Stalbrand, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight. “Deal activity has been low over the past decade but has picked up since the beginning of 2018“, continued Stalbrand.

He mentions as examples the recent deals such as Lantronix’ purchase of Maestro Wireless Solutions in July 2019 and most recently Digi International’s announced acquisition of Opengear in November 2019. In Europe, Westermo acquired the remote access specialist Virtual Access in November 2019, expanding the company’s presence in the utilities sector. “Several players continue to have inorganic growth as a strategy and further consolidation can be expected among IoT gateway vendors in 2019-2020“, concluded Stalbrand.