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Communications platform company BICS reports 44% YoY increase in global machine roaming on its network
The next generation of 5G-powered customer experiences is very close to becoming a reality. That’s thanks to the explosion of IoT use cases in industries from logistics to e-health, reports BICS, whose data has revealed that machine roaming on its network rose by 44% in 2021. The increase indicates a huge upsurge in the adoption of IoT devices connecting globally, which will in turn solidify the business case for telecom operators to invest in 5G and provide fast and ultra-reliable service to the growing mass machine connectivity market.
The rapid growth in machine roaming paints a clear picture that IoT is now a reality in many industries with combined IoT roaming traffic predicted to rise by over 300% over the next 4 years, according to a recent Kaleido report. Enterprises are now being enabled to provide vastly improved experiences, from smart factories and cloud-based industrial sensors, to automotive monitoring; and from smart home security systems to connected agriculture – even connected sheep are reaping the benefits of remote, reliable connectivity through IoT.
Matteo Gatta, CEO of BICS, comments: “Our data highlights the fact that the return on investment in 5G for operators is already showing in the market, and the trajectory for mass machine communication is crystal clear. Operators have an open opportunity to support their enterprise customers on their 5G journey, and our expertise provides the global coverage and connectivity. Industry 4.0 is happening now and BICS is supporting it.”
Regional Trends
Another interesting trend to emerge from the January 2021 to January 2022 BICS data is the 65% average monthly increase in machine devices around the world using satellite connectivity along their journey into North America. This signifies a greater emphasis being placed on the need for chain of custody data throughout the supply chain, particularly in manufacturing and logistics where quality control use cases, such as end to end tracking of temperature in vaccines for example, need to be guaranteed.
The data also confirmed the growing trend of European device manufacturers targeting the IoT potential within the APAC markets. The communications platform company reported a 4% net transfer of machine-to-machine roaming on its networks originating in Europe and destined for Asia Pacific.
Damion Rose, Senior Product Manager for Advanced Analytics at BICS, explains: “Our AI-led software tools are providing our customers with mission-critical insights to help guide their business decisions. We’re essentially removing the guesswork by using a wide set of data metrics, and translating them into easy-to-understand, granular views for our users. Leveraging data insights in this way is fundamental for operators to be able to support the growing needs of enterprise going forward, which differ from traditional roaming business models.”