Fuelled by strong demand in India and China, cellular IoT module shipments surged 11% YoY in Q2 2024 globally, while international players face pricing pressures from rising Chinese manufacturers.
Shipments of cellular IoT modules increased by 11% year-over-year (YoY) and 6% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) in Q2 2024. As reported by Counterpoint, this growth was primarily driven by strong demand in India and China, although other markets faced ongoing challenges.
A major factor in this growth is the rise of Chinese module manufacturers, who offer significantly lower prices than their competitors. This trend is especially noticeable in emerging markets like India, Africa, and Latin America, where Chinese companies are gaining ground. Under this circumstance, the report highlighted that international players must reduce their module prices.
According to the report, China experienced a 25% growth, driven primarily by a rise in point-of-sale (POS) systems, especially portable soundboxes, along with growth in automotive and asset-tracking applications.
Conversely, markets outside of China saw a 5% YoY decline due to low demand and inventory buildup among customers. However, sectors such as automotive, telematics, routers/CPE, and PCs did show some growth.
Technologically, the 4G Cat 1 bis maintained its momentum, doubling its contribution to global shipments compared to the previous year. The average selling price (ASP) of 4G Cat 1 bis nearly halved, enhancing its cost-effectiveness for smart meter and soundbox applications.
Among the market leaders, Quectel led the market with a 36.5% market share, while China Mobile surpassed Fibocom for second place with 9.2%, pushing Fibocom to third with 7.5%. These three companies accounted for over half of the global market in Q2 2024.
Telit Cinterion held the second position in markets outside of China behind Quectel.
Notably, Lierda entered the top five global players for the first time due to solid performance in Cat 1 bis applications such as POS systems, smart meters, and security cameras. Its partnerships with domestic chipset providers have allowed Lierda to offer low-cost modules, capturing market share from smaller vendors in China.
Commenting on the chipset market players, research analyst Subhadip Roy stated that in the global cellular IoT module chipset market, Qualcomm leads, followed by ASR and UNISOC. ASR has nearly doubled its market share, capturing almost half in the 4G Cat 1 bis segment.
Companies like Qualcomm, MLink, UNISOC, MediaTek, and HiSilicon are launching 5G RedCap chipsets, initially adopted in China, with U.S. operators preparing as well. The launch price of 5G RedCap modules is about double that of 4G Cat 4, making pricing a key factor for adoption.
