IoT, 5G are Joined at the Hip, Survey Finds

RAD-commissioned survey finds strong connection between the two technologies

Communication service providers (CSPs) are eagerly capitalizing on the growing demand for IoT with tailored solutions for enterprises that seamlessly integrate IoT into their core operations, a new survey commissioned by RAD found.

The survey, summarized in a report titled Top 2023-2024 Trends in CSP IoT and Private 5G Campus Services, covered more than 200 executives – director level or higher – from CSPs in the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific. It was a blind survey conducted for RAD by a third party.

According to the survey, 95 percent of CSPs are offering IoT services, with the most common being IoT cloud connectivity. 70 percent of them offer cloud connectivity, allowing enterprises to connect low-power devices in their native protocols to IoT applications hosted in public clouds. 57 percent of providers offer IoT integration services, and 43 percent provide IoT data plans. 

“CSPs are looking to play a role in the entire IoT value chain,” said Moshe Shimon, Vice President of Product and Marketing for RAD. “There is a rise in providers seeing themselves as IoT integrators and providers of IoT managed services. This leverages their customer base, network installation, and operation expertise.”

Currently, half of the providers indicate that their private 5G offering includes IoT-managed services bundled with their campus network. As digital transformation affects many organizations across almost all industries, private networks, and cloud connectivity are increasingly being adopted. Private 5G offers a natural fit for IoT installations. Its low latency connectivity and service continuity make it the de facto converged network for aggregating all campus endpoints. 5G-enabled IoT gateways are seen as a critical element in these networks with 97% of CSPs including IoT gateways in their private 4G/5G ecosystem, to bridge a range of interfaces and aggregate IoT devices.

 The survey also looked at multi-cloud and IoT services, how providers are building the network edge and their plans for security as a service.

 “The convergence of IoT and Private 5G is reshaping the landscape of next-generation enterprise networks,” Shimon said. “For providers, it offers a future of innovation, comprehensive solutions, and new revenue streams.”

The survey report is available for download at RAD’s site: Top 2023-2024 Trends in CSP IoT and Private 5G Campus Services