Global shipments of cellular IoT modules grew 16% year-on-year in Q1 2025, largely fuelled by strong demand in India, China, and Latin America, according to Counterpoint Research.
The analyst firm highlighted surging demand for smart metering, point-of-sale (POS), and asset-tracking applications in these regions.
Principal analyst Tina Lu noted that China “reinforced its lead” in the IoT segment with 19% year-on-year growth, driven by uptake in 5G, upgrades to payment systems, and expansion across asset tracking, industrial, and automotive use cases.
India and Latin America followed closely, leveraging affordable connectivity to accelerate digitalisation of utilities and tracking services, said Lu.
India posted the highest growth globally, recording a 32% year-on-year increase in Q1, primarily due to large-scale smart meter deployments supported by favourable government policies. In contrast, North America and parts of Asia-Pacific saw declines, attributed to muted demand and broader macroeconomic challenges.
Emerging market momentum contrasted with stagnation in developed markets, underscoring a shift in the global IoT landscape.
In terms of connectivity technologies, 5G was the fastest-growing segment, with shipments rising 37%, particularly in China’s router/CPE and automotive markets.
Lu also noted: “4G Cat 1 bis is becoming the de facto standard for mass-market IoT deployments. Shipments rose 35% year-on-year, thanks to its optimal balance of performance and cost. Its affordability, widespread network support, and design simplicity make it ideal for high-volume, low-complexity applications such as asset tracking and metering, disrupting legacy IoT strategies across multiple sectors.”
Quectel retained its leadership in the global IoT module market with a 37% share, followed by China Mobile at 10% and Fibocom at 8%.
Looking ahead, Counterpoint Research forecasted “significant growth” in IoT devices driven by 5G RedCap modules, with China expected to be a key market as standalone 5G adoption expands and government-backed initiatives continue to gain pace.
