The RedCap silicon market will become a ‘hyper-competitive space,’ according to ABI Research
Drawing from findings in its recent 5G RedCap Standards and Chipsets for IoT report, ABI Research has forecasted that IoT 5G Reduced Capacity (RedCap) module shipments will reach to 80 million from 2024 to 2029.
RedCap is a 5G Standalone (5G SA) technology that brings IoT and lower-performance devices into the 5G SA world. But lower performance doesn’t mean “low” performance as it has been understood in the NB-IoT, LPWA world. RedCap’s speeds, latency and spectrum use are largely on-par with advanced LTE capabilities.
“5G RedCap is a series of network and device optimizations that strips back device complexity, acting as a natural successor to LTE Cat-4 and LTE Cat-6,” Jonathan Budd, industry analyst at ABI Research, explained further, adding that this technology will provide an “affordable pathway to 5G” for those IoT device OEMs that don’t need the bells and whistles of 5G.
In a statement, the firm referenced an enhanced RedCap (eRedCap) chip that Sequans said it intends to develop as an indicator that the RedCap silicon market will become a “hyper-competitive space” as the market heats up. eRedCap, said ABI Research, will further reduce device complexity and unlock the market for IoT devices OEMs that use, or intend to use, LTE-Cat-1 and Cat-1bis. “As a replacement for LTE Cat-1 and Cat-1bis, eRedCap will be widely applicable in connecting devices across the IoT application landscape, and chipset and module manufacturers will seek to attain customer loyalty as early as possible,” said Budd.
The firm added that eRedCap represents an even greater market opportunity than 5G RedCap, and predicted that from 2024 to 2029, 56 million modules — or 71% of all RedCap modules — are due to be eRedCap, with 23 million, or 29% of RedCap modules for 5G RedCap (R17).
