Cellular networks designed for low-power devices reached one billion Internet of Things connections by the end of 2025, according to the GSMA. For businesses, the challenge is turning those connections into reliable services that justify their cost.
The mobile industry’s trade association reported the milestone in its May assessment of global IoT connectivity. These low-power, wide-area networks carry relatively small amounts of data over long distances, serving equipment such as meters and trackers.
Its assessment of the next challenge was practical: devices need to remain manageable and secure across different networks, countries and years of use.
New European cybersecurity reporting requirements, which began on September 11, make that responsibility more immediate for manufacturers of covered connected products.
The label tells only part of the story
The Internet of Things, or IoT, connects physical equipment to networks so it can exchange measurements, status information or instructions. A temperature sensor provides a reading; a connected system makes that reading available to software or people elsewhere.
Companies may describe the resulting service as energy management, fleet tracking or predictive maintenance. That last term means using information about equipment condition to anticipate maintenance needs. These applications can use IoT without putting the abbreviation in their name.
There is some evidence that attention to the term has cooled. A 2025 academic analysis examined 964 English-language IoT review articles published from 2010 to April 2023. It reported a publication peak around 2019 and 2020, alongside a similar rise and decline in the Google Trends data it examined.
That is a limited measure of research and search interest. It does not count installed devices or establish how much news coverage IoT receives today.
IoT Analytics estimated 18.5 billion active connected IoT devices worldwide in 2024. Its October 2025 outlook forecast 21.1 billion for the end of that year and 39 billion by 2030. The latter figures are forecasts in that report, not confirmed totals.
The research firm’s definition excludes smartphones and computers and avoids counting the same connection twice. The GSMA’s low-power cellular figure covers a narrower segment and should not be added to that worldwide estimate.
Useful data must lead to a useful action
A building meter can reveal electricity use, but reducing it requires a control adjustment, a repair or a change in operating practice. Installing a sensor alone cannot establish that a project saves money.
Our recent coverage of BuildON’s Greek commercial-building pilot illustrates this distinction. The project combines sensors, energy meters and controls, but its published site description does not provide measured savings or a financial payback.
Digital twins are another application. These are virtual representations of physical equipment or processes, updated with information from their real counterparts. They can help operators examine performance or test proposed changes.
The US National Institute of Standards and Technology says its manufacturing work combines smart sensors, industrial IoT, artificial intelligence and simulation. It also identifies a need to validate models and quantify uncertainty. A detailed digital representation can still produce unreliable answers if its data or assumptions are wrong.
Compatibility and support determine what customers get
Standards are addressing some of the work between connecting a device and using it. The Connectivity Standards Alliance released Matter 1.6 on June 17, updating its standard for smart-home devices from different suppliers.
The release adds setup and shared-management capabilities. The alliance cautions that manufacturers and platforms will adopt them on their own timelines. Publishing a specification does not upgrade every installed product.
Security creates a longer obligation. The European Commission confirms that reporting duties under the Cyber Resilience Act began on September 11, 2026, ahead of the main obligations applying from December 11, 2027.
Our guide to the reporting rules explains the requirements for actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe security incidents.
For businesses buying connected equipment, the purchase price is therefore only part of the decision. Support duration, software updates, compatibility with existing systems and responsibility for responding to alerts all affect whether the equipment will remain useful after installation.
