Revenues from IoT connections reached €14.2 billion in 2024, with China leading the way and managed service providers gaining momentum internationally.

Global IoT connection revenues climbed 12% to reach €14.2 billion in 2024, according to a recent estimate from the IoT industry research firm Berg Insight. The monthly ARPU fell to €0.33, a 5% decrease. For the biggest mobile operator companies, IoT connection revenues make only 1-4 percent of service revenues. By 2029, there will be 6.4 billion IoT devices connected to cellular networks worldwide, generating €22.4 billion in connection fees yearly, predicts Berg Insight.

By the end of 2024, 86 percent of the 3.8 billion cellular IoT connections were active, with the top 10 mobile carriers reporting a combined active base of 3.3 billion connections. With 1.42 billion cellular IoT connections, China Mobile is the biggest supplier of cellular IoT connectivity services globally. With 628 million and 625 million connections, respectively, China Telecom and China Unicom came in second and third.

With 204 million connections, Vodafone led the Western operators and came in fourth overall. AT&T came in fifth with 143 million connections. The number of cellular IoT connections reported by Verizon and Deutsche Telekom ranged from 56 to 60 million. The final three companies in the top 10 were KDDI, Telefónica, and Orange, with around 49 million, 45 million, and 37 million connections, respectively. The biggest mobile operators' installed bases increased by 5 to 26 percent a year.

In the ecosystem, IoT managed service providers are essential. Offering IoT connectivity services based on a combination of roaming and local access agreements, as well as occasionally value-added services aimed at vertical segments, the majority of players function as full MVNOs. Among the notable examples are Semtech, Soracom, Tata Communications, Teal, Telit Cinterion, Velos IoT, Cubic, emnify, Eseye, floLIVE, Giesecke+Devrient, KORE, Monogoto, Onomondo, 1GLOBAL, 1NCE, CSL Group, Aeris, BICS, and Wireless Logic. At the end of 2024, IoT managed service providers collectively handled over 200 million cellular IoT connections and generated around €1.8 billion in revenue annually.