Rising Demand in China, India Fuels Global Cellular IoT Module Growth

The global cellular IoT module market’s shipments grew 11% YoY in Q2 2024. The growth was primarily fuelled by China, where strong demand in soundbox, automotive, and asset-tracking applications led to a 25% YoY increase. 4G Cat 1 bis is the fastest-growing segment, capturing 42% of the market in Q2, driven by demand from China and India. Qualcomm remained the market leader, while ASR doubled its market share due to the strong performance of its low-cost 4G Cat 1 bis chipset offerings.

Global cellular IoT module shipments grew 11% YoY and 6% QoQ in Q2 2024, according to Counterpoint’s latest ‘Global Cellular IoT Module and Chipset Tracker by Application’ report.

This growth was primarily driven by strong demand in China and India, while other markets continued to face challenges.

Commenting on the market’s dynamics, Senior Analyst Tina Lu said, “China experienced robust growth of 25%, primarily driven by the significant expansion in POS, particularly soundbox (a portable and small form factor POS device), as well as in automotive and asset-tracking applications. In contrast, markets outside of China saw a 5% YoY decline due to low demand and inventory buildup at the customer end. However, the automotive, telematics, router/CPE and PC sectors also showed growth in markets outside China. On the technology front, 4G Cat 1 bis maintained its momentum, doubling its contribution to global shipments from a year ago. The average selling price (ASP) of 4G Cat 1 bis nearly halved over the year, making it more cost-effective for use in smart meter and soundbox applications.”

Quectel continued to lead the market, while China Mobile replaced Fibocom for the second spot. Fibocom slipped to the third spot. Together, these three companies held more than half of the global market in Q2 2024. In markets outside China, Telit Cinterion maintained its second position behind Quectel. For the first time, Lierda entered the list of top five global players, thanks to its strong performance in Cat 1 bis applications such as POS (especially soundboxes), smart meters and security cameras. Lierda’s partnerships with domestic chipset providers have enabled it to offer low-cost modules, allowing the company to capture market share from smaller vendors in China. Another major factor is the growth of Chinese module players, driven by the significant price differential between them and other module players. This trend is particularly evident in emerging markets like India, Africa and Latin America, where Chinese players continue to expand. To stay competitive and keep up with the growing Chinese market presence, international players will need to reduce their module ASP margins.

Commenting on the chipset player dynamics, Research Analyst Subhadip Roy said, “In the global cellular IoT module chipset market, Qualcomm continues to lead, followed by ASR and UNISOC. ASR has seen significant growth over the years, nearly doubling its market share due to its strong performance in the 4G Cat 1 bis chipset segment, where it captured nearly half of the market in Q2 2024. Chipset players like Qualcomm, MLink, UNISOC, MediaTek and HiSilicon have launched 5G RedCap chipsets. While their early adoption is underway in China, US operators are also gearing up. The launch price of 5G RedCap modules is nearly twice that of 4G Cat 4 modules, so it will be keenly watched how pricing evolves to support the adoption of 5G RedCap technology.”

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