[Via Satellite 11-23-2016] The global satellite Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) market will reach 5.96 million in-service satellite M2M/IoT terminals by 2025, according to Northern Sky Research’s (NSR) “M2M and IoT via Satellite, 7th Edition M2M7” report. These terminals correspond to nearly $2.5 billion in annual retail revenues, a doubling over 2015. The report finds the most lucrative application is land transport; however, other key verticals record strong growth.

“NSR’s latest report points to an optimistic picture for the industry; however, operators cannot stand still as increasing competition aims to take advantage of the growing demand for M2M/IoT,” notes Alan Crisp, NSR analyst and report lead author. “Growing cellular footprints, greater terrestrial reliability, and the rollout of 5G and [Low-Power Wide Area] LPWA networks are increasing competition within the M2M/IoT market globally. Longer term, IoT-dedicated smallsats will also enter the market, providing unique and potentially compelling value propositions to disrupt the current market paradigm.”

While competition within the M2M market will increase, opportunities also exist, such as dual-mode solutions, enabling operators to tap into new markets. Beyond this, with the growth of dedicated terrestrial IoT LPWA networks, such as Sigfox and LoRa, new, albeit relatively niche, markets for satellite participation will open up. The compelling value proposition to provide satellite IoT backhaul for such networks will enable new revenue sources in the longer term, once these networks are rolled out globally.

Presenting a larger opportunity is satellite consumer IoT, according to the report, which will see significant growth in areas such as location and tracking devices. This will come in spite of the dominance of terrestrial connections. Most notable in this segment will be Globalstar Spot and DeLorme InReach, which NSR forecasts will reach more than 770,000 in-service units by 2025 — 13 percent of active M2M/IoT satellite units in that year.