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Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Cellular connections to outpace LPWAN, radio in Indian utilities: Airtel Business-IDC study
NEW DELHI: Cellular connectivity, led by Narrowband-Internet of Things ( NB-IoT ), are likely to outpace the growth of low-powered wireless access network (LPWAN) and other radio technologies in India's utilities sector over the next four years, according to the findings of a study conducted by the International Data Corporation (IDC), commissioned by Bharti Airtel 's enterprise arm. The growth of NB-IoT will be supported by a low-cost of ownership, standardised wireless chipsets and modules, security, and reliability and availability, the study found. The Airtel Business-IDC study found that the growth rate of cellular connections, including NB-IoT, in the utilities segment is expected to increase by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.6% between 2023 and 2027. By contrast, the LPWAN, including LoRaWAN and Sigfox, and radio (including RF mesh) segments are expected to grow at annualised rates of 17.8% and 13.5%, respectively, over the same period. In India, NB-IoT is being extensively utilised under the National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM), which envisages the conversion of 222.4 million meters into prepaid smart meters. However, just 32.90 million smart meters, or about 14.8%, have been deployed across India, according to the latest data available on the NSGM dashboard. 'Telecom service providers in India are further investing in upgrading the underlying network infrastructure, including 4G and NB-IoT networks. This improved connectivity will encourage the adoption of cloud platforms and services, offering greater scalability and flexibility for utilities companies,' IDC analysts Nikhil Batra and Swathi Arunaa said in the report. NB-IoT provides cellular-based connectivity with wide coverage and low power consumption, making it ideal for large-scale smart metering deployments, the analysts said. 'By investing in reliable connectivity solutions, utilities can ensure the seamless integration of AMI and smart metering into their operations, thereby driving the success of India's National Smart Grid Mission,' according to the analysts. The country's top telecom carriers, Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi), are all bullish on the growth prospects of IoT which has become central to their enterprise segment strategy. Gopal Vittal, vice chairman & managing director of Airtel, at the telco's most recent post-earnings conference call said, 'We continue to add muscle to our digital portfolio with cloud…cybersecurity, financial services, IoT and CPaaS and all of these are getting additional investments.' For instance, Secure Meters in partnership with Airtel Business has successfully deployed 1.7 million NB-IoT smart meters across Bihar. Secure has developed its own smart meters with NB IoT communication module, head end system, and meter data management system, which have been integrated with Airtel's IoT platform to ensure seamless cellular connectivity. This large-scale deployment is supported by Airtel's (NB-IoT/GPRS) network, and includes a network feasibility tool and a SIM services management portal to assist Secure in effectively planning and implementing smart meter installations.
Entrepreneur
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Entrepreneur
Airtel Business Aims To Double Growth In IoT Division
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the force behind the world's major revolution in connected technology solutions. IoT helps enterprises unlock a competitive edge by driving efficiency, enhancing safety, reducing costs, and enabling smarter decision-making across sectors. "For Airtel, IoT is amongst the fastest growing product portfolios in the enterprise space with a focus on doubling down growth. Our growth in this space is attributed to our consistent strategic investments in both our in-house IoT platform and a custom network built for IoT devices. We are increasingly combining connectivity and Cloud services, making our solutions an economical choice for customers," said Sharat Sinha, Director & CEO- Airtel Business. Airtel Business currently connects over 48 million IoT devices across use cases. IoT initiatives are also being driven by digitization programs of the Government such as National Smart Grid Mission aimed at reducing aggregate technical and commercial losses for the DISCOMs. "In this area , we are working with SIs deploying the smart metering solutions and acting as one stop solution providers for the smart metering technology stack," he said. IoT connectivity remains the company's largest contributor and the focus is expanding beyond core capabilities. The connected car ecosystem One of the emerging trends in terms of consumer IoT can be witnessed in the automotive sector. The connected car ecosystem in India has evolved rapidly over the past 24-36 months, with all leading auto manufacturers either launching connected offerings or gearing up for it. "The focus of OEMs is to launch an Internet-enabled vehicle, wherein connectivity and smart features are at the core of the product offering. We tailor IoT solutions to cater to the distinct needs encountered by enterprises across the automobile domain. OEMs are looking for solutions to enable traffic segregation between infotainment and vehicle telematics, a problem we have solved by enabling multi-APN support. They are also looking to share the connectivity costs with the vehicle owner, which has been enabled by Airtel Business via an innovative multi-party billing solution," added the CEO. Connected vehicle data has the potential to redefine the driving experience. With India gearing up to become a global manufacturing hub for automobiles, device OEMs and IoT solution providers are looking to manufacture and build their IoT solutions in India and deploy globally. Some of the other analytics are around real time driving patterns and driver behavior helping OEMs build features aimed at improving safety. OEMs today implement security features such as emergency calling (e-call) and SOS communication to ensure that the vehicle can communicate with a contact center in case the passenger needs any help. 5G & Beyond While the network infrastructure is rapidly expanding, the widespread adoption of 5G IoT devices will take time. For 5G IoT to achieve widespread penetration, the cost of 5G modules and devices needs to significantly decrease. Automotive OEMs will be the earliest adopters of full 5G capabilities for IoT. This is primarily driven by the need for higher throughput to support bandwidth-intensive use cases like in-car infotainment, including music streaming, video on demand, and seamless connectivity for multiple passenger devices. These applications benefit significantly from the enhanced speeds and capacity that 5G provides. "Beyond these high-bandwidth applications, we anticipate that the broader 5G IoT market will also gravitate towards 5G Reduced Capability (RedCap). Use cases such as advanced wearables, industrial sensors, are ideal candidates for RedCap, offering a better balance of performance, power efficiency, and cost. Our core network already supports 5G RedCap. However, the widespread availability of cost-effective RedCap modules and the development of such solutions will take time to evolve," Sinha said. In Fy26, as part of expansion, Airtel Business will continue to provide comprehensive full-stack solutions across various verticals like asset monitoring, energy management, and smart logistics. Specifically for the smart metering sector, where large SIs and EPC companies are seeking single-stop providers for their technology IoT devices penetration increases, issues around data security and privacy are gaining prominence. "We have been building capabilities to ensure that our customers and their data always remain secure. Airtel Business strictly complies with Department of Telecom's guidelines on IoT which mandate restrictive communication for IoT devices. We have deployed dedicated core network infrastructure which enforces these policies stringently, while giving our customers the flexibility to dynamically configure and define rules on the fly," the CEO IoT market growth is set to accelerate in 2025. Starting this year, the enterprise IoT market growth is forecasted to re-accelerate, growing at 14 percent CAGR through 2030. Driving this recovery is spending on IoT-related SaaS and IaaS, both forecasted to grow at over 20 percent CAGR through the rest of the decade, stated a report by IOT Analytics.
