Almost $5 billion in cellular connectivity income will be generated by smart manufacturing by 2028, according to a new analysis from Kaleido Intelligence.
In addition to a major development of real-time video-based use cases, which will push monthly ARPU beyond $3.00 in many locations starting in 2024 due to high levels of data transmission, this abundance of data is produced as a result of increased maintenance automation.
According to the latest study, Cellular IoT Connectivity Series: Manufacturing Industry Opportunities & Forecasts, greater video-based automation will cause the manufacturing sector to send over 220 petabytes of data via cellular channels by 2028. However, the incorporation of edge computing will keep the majority of the data created local, lowering the cost of cellular access for end users.
The study also predicts that many installations will use LPWAN technologies in addition to data-intensive ones, and that in fact, for some use cases, non-cellular data will be superior. According to the survey, providing consumers with both cellular and non-cellular connectivity is quickly turning into a crucial part of industrial IoT services.
Private cellular networks will be used to support many of these increasingly complex network architectures as DAS struggles in the years to come to compete with dedicated networks in terms of dependability, security, and latency. Kaleido points out that many of these deployments are also 5G-focused, even when the full capabilities of the most recent cellular standard are not used, as a manner of future-proofing and to make management easier for service providers.
Only 8% of manufacturing establishments globally will adopt cellular connectivity by 2028 due to the growing complexity of the networks, which will limit connectivity to companies that can afford to install and run the networks. This is due to the fact that the technologies demand specialised administration and will therefore remain out of the price range of the majority of small- and medium-sized businesses for the foreseeable future.
Research author James Moar states “Cellular connectivity can bring many benefits to manufacturers, by providing a reliable platform for predictive maintenance and elements of production automation. However, both the complexity of the systems and upfront costs of managed services will make more budget-constrained businesses think twice about adopting the technology, particularly in the current economic climate. This will keep connectivity use confined mostly to larger businesses that have the ability to make costly technology investments.”
