IoT devices to outnumber mobile phones by 2018

The total global installed base of Internet of Things (IoT) devices will exceed that of mobile phones by 2018 to become the largest category of connected devices, Ericsson has predicted.

The networking vendor’s latest Mobility Report estimates that by 2021, IoT devices will account for 16 billion of the total 28 billion connected devices.

The install base of IoT devices is on track to grow at a CAGR of 27% for cellular connected IoT devices and 22% for non-cellular IoT devices. But adoption of the latter is expected to dwarf that of the former, reaching 14.2 billion by 2021.

Western Europe is expected to lead the way in adding IoT connections, with the install base expected to surge 400% by 2021. Adoption will be driven by regulatory requirements for devices such as intelligent security meters and a growing demand for connected cars, Ericsson said.

“IoT is now accelerating as device costs fall and innovative applications emerge,” Ericsson SVP Rima Qureshi said.

“From 2020, commercial deployment of 5G networks will provide additional capabilities that are critical for IoT, such as network slicing and the capacity to connect exponentially more devices than is possible today.”

Despite being overtaken by IoT devices, global smartphone subscriptions are still expected to nearly double by 2021 to 6.3 billion.

The first commercial devices to support the 1 Gbps downlink mobile networks being deployed in markets such as Japan ad South Korea will help contribute to this growth.

There are currently more than 5 billion unique mobile users in the world today, the report finds. There were around 150 million new subscriptions to LTE networks during the quarter, with adoption driven by demand for faster networks and an improved user experience.

Image courtesy of Steven Cooper under CC