According to research from the IoT analyst firm Berg Insight, annual shipments of cellular IoT modules totalled 514 million units in 2024, registering a 22% increase from the previous year. Annual sales increased by 13% to $6 billion in the year. Until 2029, shipments of cellular IoT modules are forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% to reach 866 million units.
After the cellular IoT module market declined in 2023 largely due to high inventory levels among customers, the market recovered in 2024 driven by strong demand in China and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. The European and North American markets however remained comparatively weak as the inventory correction continued, predominantly affecting Western module makers. Module sales in these regions picked up at the second half of the year, a trend that is expected to continue throughout 2025.
The five largest cellular module vendors – Quectel, Fibocom, Telit Cinterion, Rolling Wireless and MeiG – held a 71% share of the market in terms of revenues. The uncertain geopolitical environment has so far had limited impact on the cellular module vendor landscape as China-based vendors continued to gain market share in the year. Cost has so far outweighed concerns over origin and ownership, though mounting regulatory scrutiny, particularly in the US, could gradually shift the balance.
Recent deals such as Fibocom’s divestment of its international module business Rolling Wireless, Quectel’s licensing partnership with Eagle Electronics and Qualcomm’s purchase of Sequans’ 4G LTE IoT product line, all reflect growing efforts to navigate an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape.
The shift has also heightened supply chain stability concerns among some Western IoT solution providers, prompting responses to de-risk their supply chains through dual sourcing or selecting regional alternatives. Nonetheless, scale and cost competitiveness remain decisive factors. With China accounting for about half of all cellular module shipments globally, leading Chinese vendors continue to leverage their domestic scale to drive down costs and maintain pricing advantage in international markets.
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