Mubasher: Gartner Inc. expected outdoor surveillance cameras to become the biggest market for 5G Internet of Things (IoT) solutions across the world during the coming three years.    

Surveillance cameras are forecast to represent 70% of the 5G IoT endpoint installed base in 2020, before contracting to 32% by the end of 2023, Gartner said in a press release on Monday.  

The number of connected cars will surpass that of 5G IoT installed endpoints for outdoor surveillance cameras in 2023. The later will reach 2.5 million units in 2020, while in 2021 and 2020, they will reach 6.2 million and 11.2 million.

The 5G IoT endpoint installed base is projected to have more than a triple number of units between 2020 and 2021, from 3.5 million in 2020 to 11.3 million in 2021, while approaching 49 million units by 2023.     

In this regard, senior research director at Gartner Stephanie Baghdassarian said, “Cameras deployed by city operators or used to ensure building security and provide intruder detection offer the largest addressable market as they are located outdoors, often across cities, and require cellular connectivity.”

Baghdassarian further advised communications service providers (CSPs) to direct their investments to outdoor surveillance cameras, connected cars, and government and physical security while assessing the many use cases of 5G.

Connected cars will be the biggest opportunity for 5G IoT in the long term

The automotive industry is likely to become the largest market opportunity for 5G IoT solutions in 2023, representing 53% of the overall 5G IoT endpoint opportunity during that year.

“Embedded endpoints in connected cars for commercial and consumer markets will represent an installed base of 19.1 million units out of a total of 25.9 million 5G endpoints in the automotive sector in 2023,” according to the press release.

Moreover, the share of the 5G-connected cars actively connected to a 5G service will increase to 74% in 2023 from 15% in 2020, while leaping to a 94% in 2028 once 5G technology is used for Cellular V2X communications. The new edge will help keep traffic moving and improve road safety.  

“As the automotive industry will be the largest sector for IoT endpoints and 5G IoT use cases in the long term, we recommend that CSPs that want to be relevant in the 5G IoT market put this industry at the forefront of their investments. They should do this in terms of personnel who understand the sector and of partnerships that will move the market forward,” Baghdassarian concluded.