A new Juniper Research study has predicted that the global amount of data generated by roaming IoT connections will increase from 86 petabytes in 2022 to 1,100 petabytes by 2027.
1,100 petabytes would be enough data to stream 165 million hours of 4K video from platforms such as Netflix.
This 1,140% growth will be driven by the termination of 3G networks, which necessitates the adoption of low-power cellular networks. The research found that low-power wide-area networks provide a low-cost alternative to established operator-led cellular networks, such as 4G and 5GG. This drives the growth of IoT roaming connections through low-power, high-penetration coverage.
Roaming IoT connections use wireless services outside of their registered operator’s network, thus accessing connectivity from other cellular providers.
To find out more, access the new report: ‘IoT Roaming Strategies: Market Forecasts, Key Opportunities & Competitor Leaderboard 2022-2027’.
The free whitepaper, ‘The Evolution of IoT Roaming’, can also be downloaded at this link.
US offers key IoT roaming growth opportunities
The report found that roaming IoT connections from the US will generate 277 petabytes of data by 2027, which accounts for 26% of the global total. With AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon terminating 3G networks during 2022, it is anticipated that roaming IoT connections will be redistributed to low-power wide-area 4G or 5G networks depending on the use case.
As Scarlett Woodford, Research Author remarked: “US operators must adopt the Billing & Charging Evolution protocol to accurately identify IoT traffic based on network technologies. Failure to do so will risk revenue leakage, if lucrative 5G roaming IoT traffic is misidentified as lower-value connectivity.”
5G connectivity restricted to high-value IoT roaming use cases
Juniper’s research notes that only 2% of total IoT roaming connections will rely on 5G networks by 2027, due to the low-power consumption and infrequent data transmission exhibited by the majority of devices. It found that only use cases dependent on low-latency and high-speed data downloads, such as autonomous vehicles and connected factories, will justify enterprise investment in 5G connectivity.
For more on connectivity technologies, visit our Communications page.
And for other content on engineering, hardware, and more, visit our sister publication, Electronic Specifier. Plus, your thoughts are always welcome at our comments section below and our LinkedIn page here.