Approximately 2.7 million cellular M2M terminals were shipped globally during 2015 according to a new research report from the M2M/IoT analyst firm Berg Insight. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.1 percent, this number is expected to reach 5.7 million in 2020.

Berg Insight defines cellular terminals as standalone devices intended for connecting M2M devices to a cellular network. These include primarily general-purpose cellular routers, gateways and modems that are enclosed in a chassis and have at least one input/output port. Trackers, telematics devices and other specialised devices are excluded from this report.

“North American and Asian vendors dominate the global cellular M2M terminal market”, said Jonas Wennermark, IoT/M2M Analyst at Berg Insight.

Cradlepoint, Sierra Wireless and Digi International are the largest vendors in North America, whilst SIMCom is the main manufacturer on the Asian market.

“Combined, these four vendors generated close to US$ 290 million in revenues from M2M terminal sales during 2015”, continued Mr. Wennermark.

This is equivalent to more than 50 percent of the global market. Other noteworthy vendors include CalAmp and MultiTech Systems in the US; Xiamen Four-Faith and InHand Networks in Asia; HMS Networks, Advantech B+B SmartWorx, NetModule, Matrix Electrónica, Eurotech, Gemalto, Dr. Neuhaus and Option in Europe and NetComm Wireless in Australia.

“A large number of small and medium sized vendors are active on the European market, whilst the North American market is dominated by a handful of major vendors, largely due to barriers in the form of carrier certifications required for cellular devices in the region”, concluded Mr. Wennermark.