The Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) market is forecast to grow from USD1.01 billion in 2016 to USD24.46 billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 89.3%, according to a new market research report published by Marketsandmarkets.
Usage of LPWAN in smart gas and water metering segment is expected to witness the highest growth rate, followed by smart waste management, smart buildings, smart street lights, smart parking, livestock monitoring and home security and healthcare. The use of LPWAN in smart meter rollouts represents a paradigm shift in understanding the energy consumption at all the levels in the power grid, said the report.
In terms of verticals, oil and gas is forecast to lead the LPWAN market with a wide range of organizations adopting LPWAN solutions in all regions. Lower oil prices are driving the growth in this segment and encouraging companies to place a higher business priority on optimization where IoT applications are yet to be adopted. Connected devices and systems can help such companies drive more efficient oil and gas operations, with minimum human intervention, providing higher value than traditional technology.
Europe is expected to continue being the largest revenue generator region for LPWAN vendors for the next five years, followed by North America, whereas APAC is expected to be the fastest-growing region in this market during the forecast period.
According to the report, LPWAN rollout by service providers is also fast gaining momentom. Recently, the largest mobile operator in the South Korea, SK Telecom announced that it has completed the nationwide deployment of LPWAN based on LoRa technology and that it plans to invest 100 billion won (US$83.7 million) to build a nationwide LPWAN by the end of this year. At the same time, the largest mobile operator in the Netherlands, KPN announced that its LoRa Internet-of-Things(IoT) network is available throughout the country.
The report listed major vendors in the LPWAN space as Semtech, LORIOT, NWave Technologies, SIGFOX, WAVIoT, Actility, Ingenu, Link Labs, Weightless SIG and Senet.
