Short-range technologies, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Zigbee, will dominate the number of Internet of Things (IoT) connections in 2030 compared with other communications technologies, with over 21 billion connections.

Massive machine-type communication tech

These short-range technologies are projected to account for the most sizable portion of communications technologies from 2021 to 2030. Massive machine-type communication (mMTC) using 5G technology - which is needed for the growing deployment of autonomous vehicles - is projected to grow strongly over the next few years. At the same time, the non-mMTC connected devices would depend on low power wide area (LPWA) network.

Future of IoT

In the following decade, IoT will track individuals, cities, crops, and everything else you can imagine. The possibilities for IoT in the future are endless. Increased network agility, integrated artificial intelligence (AI), has increased the ability to deploy, automate, manage, and secure various use cases at hyper-scale. This development will expedite IoT advancements in the coming years.

The number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices worldwide is forecast to more than double from 19.8 billion in 2025 to more than 40.6 billion IoT devices by 2034. In 2034, the highest number of IoT devices will be found in China, with around 7.51 billion consumer devices. IoT devices are used in all types of industry verticals and consumer markets, with the consumer segment accounting for around 60 percent of all IoT or connected devices in 2025. This share is projected to stay at this level over the next ten years. Major verticals and use cases Major industry verticals with currently more than 100 million connected IoT devices are electricity, gas, steam & A/C, water supply & waste management, retail & wholesale, transportation & storage, and government. Overall, the number of IoT devices across all industry verticals is forecast to grow to more than eight billion by 2033. Major use-cases The most important use case for IoT devices in the consumer segment are consumer internet & media devices such as smartphones, where the number of IoT devices is forecast to grow to more than 17 billion by 2033. Other use cases with more than one billion IoT devices by 2033 are connected (autonomous) vehicles, IT infrastructure, asset tracking & monitoring, and smart grid.

By 2025, forecasts suggest that there will be more than ** billion Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices in use. This would be a nearly threefold increase from the IoT installed base in 2019. What is the Internet of Things? The IoT refers to a network of devices that are connected to the internet and can “communicate” with each other. Such devices include daily tech gadgets such as the smartphones and the wearables, smart home devices such as smart meters, as well as industrial devices like smart machines. These smart connected devices are able to gather, share, and analyze information and create actions accordingly. By 2023, global spending on IoT will reach *** trillion U.S. dollars. How does Internet of Things work? IoT devices make use of sensors and processors to collect and analyze data acquired from their environments. The data collected from the sensors will be shared by being sent to a gateway or to other IoT devices. It will then be either sent to and analyzed in the cloud or analyzed locally. By 2025, the data volume created by IoT connections is projected to reach a massive total of **** zettabytes. Privacy and security concerns   Given the amount of data generated by IoT devices, it is no wonder that data privacy and security are among the major concerns with regard to IoT adoption. Once devices are connected to the Internet, they become vulnerable to possible security breaches in the form of hacking, phishing, etc. Frequent data leaks from social media raise earnest concerns about information security standards in today’s world; were the IoT to become the next new reality, serious efforts to create strict security stands need to be prioritized.

The consumer sector is anticipated to dominate in terms of number of Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices in 2034, with over 24 billion connected devices worldwide. This number of connected devices within the consumer sector is forecast to keep increasing.

The total installed base of Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices worldwide is projected to amount to **** billion units by 2025, a sharp jump from the **** billion units that are expected in 2021. IoT vs non-IoT Examples of IoT connections include connected cars, smart home devices, and connected industrial equipment. In comparison, non-IoT connections include smartphones, laptops, and computers, with connections of these types of devices set to amount to just over ** billion units by 2025 – three times fewer than IoT device connections. As a result, revenue from the global IoT market is set to grow considerably in the coming years. 5G and IoT The development of faster and more reliable networks, especially with the extensive rollout of 5G, accelerates the pace with which IoT deployment occurs. Due to this development, many vehicles are becoming increasingly connected, a trend that is forecast to continue both in the commercial and consumer connected car markets.

There were an estimated **** billion 5G mobile subscriptions worldwide in 2024, up from just *** billion the previous year. This figure is expected to reach almost **** billion by the end of the decade, with 5G set to surpass 4G as the world's leading mobile network technology. 5G: a key driver for IoT 5G connectivity is expected to drive growth in the Internet of Things (IoT) market over the coming years, with the mobile technology connecting machines and devices with higher data speeds, ultra-low latency and increased availability, among other benefits. By 2023, connected cars are expected to form the largest installed base of 5G IoT endpoints worldwide with more than ** million installed endpoints. Outdoor surveillance cameras and fleet telematics devices are also key factors of the 5G IoT endpoint installed base.