Research commissioned by Spark New Zealand highlighted a growing IoT opportunity in the nation, predicting deployments will contribute NZD15.8 billion ($9.8 billion) to GDP by 2030 and connections to grow at an average annual rate of 11.3 per cent.

The analysis by NERA Economic Consulting outlined the opportunity for the IoT to boost growth as it is adopted by more businesses across different sectors.

Spark IoT lead Michele Wong stated the research highlights the contribution technology makes in boosting businesses’ efficiency.

“As more businesses harness the benefits of IoT, technology efficiencies in supply chain, management and utilisation of infrastructure will be realised across industries.”

The report combines data from global and local research compiled using top-down and bottom-up approaches to give insights into the economic effects of IoT on various indicators including productivity and potential cost savings, Spark stated.

Looking at the construction industry alone, the research highlighted potential cost savings totalling NZD12.9 billion by 2032 from using IoT services.

The research also showed water metering devices could provide a potential net benefit of NZD28 million over a ten-year period.

Spark completed a nationwide rollout of an IoT network using LTE-M technology in 2019.