ABI Research

M2M Modules based on 2G technologies continued to dominate shipments in 2012 with over 70 percent market share. As a result, module revenues did not break the $1 billion mark as hoped and the average module price continued to decline.

LTE-capable networks will continue to mushroom around the globe through 2018. In particular, frequency-division duplex (FDD) networks will see their population coverage expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33 percent between 2012 and 2018 to hit 57 percent. Time-division duplex (TDD) networks will gain ground at a more rapid rate of 43 percent during this period but will only reach 52 percent population coverage due to fewer licensed markets currently.

ABI Research's latest data on the Internet of Everything (IoE) shows that there are more than 10 billion wirelessly connected devices in the market today; with over 30 billion devices expected by 2020.

The market for disposable wireless Medical Body Area Network (MBAN) sensors within professional healthcare is in its earliest stages, but key foundations to support adoption are now in place. There is also tremendous potential for adoption. So much so that by 2018, close to 5 million disposable sensors will be shipped even though MBAN sensors will have still barely penetrated the addressable market.

Worldwide service revenue, year-on-year (YoY) for 4Q-2012 grew 2.8% to US$240.5 billion. From ABI Research’s investigations, the regional dynamic is varied. Western Europe and Africa’s mobile operator actually demonstrated a contraction in service revenue YoY of 8.2% and 6.9% respectively. Middle East, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific are still showing reasonably robust rates of growth of 7% to 11%.

An estimated 405 million handsets, including 197 million smartphones, were shipped in the first quarter of 2013, according to market intelligence firm ABI Research. Smartphone shipments grew 38 percent year-over-year (YoY) while feature phone shipments declined 5.2 percent YoY. Shipments of all handsets grew 12 percent YoY in the first quarter thanks to the continued strength of the smartphone market, which achieved an all-time high of 49 percent shipment penetration.

The market for chipsets containing LTE baseband processors has ramped up quickly, and is fraught with competition. 15 companies offer over 35 chipsets with LTE, from singlemode LTE chipsets to multimode chipsets integrated with application processors and wireless connectivity. ABI Research’s latest Competitive Assessment ranked Qualcomm first in LTE baseband product features and other attributes, followed by ST-Ericsson and Sequans.

In many parts of the world, smartphone shipments account for a larger percentage of mobile handset shipments than feature phones and low-cost handsets. Yet within the smartphone class of devices, segmentation is increasing to three price tiers (low, mid, and high). Shipments of sub-US$250 low-cost smartphones will grow from 259 million in 2013 to 788 million in 2018, according to recent Market Data from market intelligence firm ABI Research.

The spending on Long-Term Evolution (LTE) base stations will hit US$ 12.3 billion in 2013 as countries around the world join the high-speed club. Membership is not exclusive to the developed economies as emerging markets close the digital divide by aggressive network roll-out. Some of these emerging market LTE deployments are government-sponsored initiatives as in Rwanda while others are private ventures as in Sri Lanka.

Smart watches have been around for the last decade. The wearable computing device has failed to take off for one reason or another: they looked ugly, were too bulky, had weak functionality, or the battery life was not good enough. However, over the last nine months a number of new smart watches have emerged that could change consumers’ perceptions. Market intelligence firm ABI Research projects more than 1.2 million smart watches will be shipped in 2013.