By 2029, the global Internet of Things (IoT) market is forecasted to grow to $2,465.26 billion, marking a CAGR growth of nearly 30% during the projected period. This growth comes despite reports by Fortune Business Insights highlighting a decline of 20% in the global market in 2020 compared to 2019.
While some people may credit this to life returning to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, it could also be because companies in the IoT industry are continuously pushing boundaries and offering their consumers unique solutions such as smart cities and network connectivity. Over the last month, many new solutions and services have been announced.
What Is Happening in the IoT Industry?
Vodafone
Earlier this month, British multinational telecommunications company Vodafone Group announced that it had signed an agreement with Topcon Positioning Group to develop a new positioning service called Vodafone GNSS Corrections. Vodafone was founded in 1991, and as of November 2020, the company owns networks in over 22 countries and has partner networks in 48 countries. Topcon Positioning Group is a global positioning partner and leader in precision measurement technologies and systems.
According to reports, the new service will locate IoT devices and vehicles using individual navigation satellite systems, improving accuracy. As of September 22, the two organisations have decided to advance customer trials and select customers in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain are now being invited by Vodafone to try pilot activities.
Tele2
Tele2 is a Swedish telecommunications operator based in Stockholm, Sweden. The company was started in 1993 by Swedish investment company Kinnevik AB, which was founded nearly 60 years earlier. In 2022, the investment company had Tele2 as the largest stake-holding (36%), and the Kinnevik share price reflects how it invests in sustainable companies that are pushing the norm. That is certainly the case with Tele2, which recently signed a cooperation agreement with TH1NG to offer a secure IoT platform to existing and new Tele2 IoT customers. The IoT platform, IoT Open, will offer customers several new services in different industries, including the real estate sector.
Kerlink
Kerlink is a fast-growing company and premier provider of IoT connectivity equipment and services based in Thorigné-Fouillard, France. The company was founded in 2004 and provides equipment for several industries and cities, entering the UK market in 2018. Most recently, Kerlink has partnered with Japanese IT firm Takumi Shoji Co to answer the needs of Japan’s rapidly growing IoT market. Together, the two parties will promote and sell Kerlink’s LoRaWAN-based solutions. LoRaWAN offers a secure network-based geolocation that can locate any LoRA-enabled mobile-end device.
Despite seeing a decline in the global market in 2020 compared to 2019, the IoT industry has once again hit its stride as more companies like Vodafone, Tele2, and Kerlink continue to push the norm and provide unique IoT solutions to countries and cities around the world. The industry is on an upward trend, but where it will be next year is only a matter of time.
