ABI Research predicts the IoT gateway market will grow to nearly $48 billion in annual revenues by 2026, driven in part by the transition to cellular from fixed line and the ramp up of 5G gateways.

The research firm also cited rapid growth in the industrial and infrastructure markets as another factor in the increase in IoT gateway revenues.

“By 2026, cellular gateway shipments will top 127 million units worldwide, at a CAGR exceeding 23 per cent from 2021 to 2026,” noted Abdullah Haider, IoT network and services analyst at ABI Research.

ABI Research’s forecast stated 3G gateways will account for a minimal share of the market starting in 2023 as they will be replaced by Cat-1 gateways while 5G gateway shipments are poised to accelerate in 2026.

T-Mobile US and AT&T have shut down their 3G networks while AT&T plans to do so by the end of 2022.

There are some potential speed bumps for IoT gateway revenue growth with WAN-connected endpoint devices playing a bigger role in IoT solutions going forward, particularly in application segments such as patient monitoring.

Haider stated cellular WAN-connected chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (CPOD) and personal emergency response systems (PERS) devices are replacing gateway connected short-range wireless devices.

“But gateways are still expected to retain their utility, especially in industrial condition-based monitoring application segments,” he noted.

The research also found the last few years of the Covid19 (coronavirus) pandemic accelerated the role of gateways in the fleet management and home monitoring segments.