Operators in IoT: progress in the last decade and pathway to sustained success

Having been active in IoT for more than 10 years, operators have enabled a myriad of new use cases with added value for many industries and end users.

Despite persisting challenges in the wider IoT ecosystem and broadly falling APRU levels, selected operators that have invested in IoT have achieved growth in their IoT revenues and have built sizeable businesses out of it, comparable to the business of focused IoT vendors and MVNOs. Yet, more than half of operators also state that while IoT is a strategic area, they are unsure of how to proceed.

Going forward, operators are weighing up the different options for the future of their IoT business. This report elaborates on the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches and provides a guide to operators on how to craft an IoT strategy that builds on lessons learned and is fit to their assets and capabilities.