For a long time, it is generally believed that NB-IoT chips, modules, and industrial applications have become mature. But if you look deeper, the current NB-IoT chips are still developing and changing continuously, and the perception at the beginning of the year may already be inconsistent with the actual situation at the end of the year.

In the past 5 years, we have even witnessed a new generation of “cores” replacing the old ones. Xiaomi Songguo NB-IoT, Qualcomm MDM9206, etc. are not making progress, ODM mobile core communication has not seen improvement, Hisilicon Boudica 150 inventory has decreased, etc. At the same time, mobile core communication, Xinyi Information, Zhilianan, Nuoling Technology, Core Like semiconductors, etc. have gradually entered people’s field of vision. In recent years, more than 20 companies have claimed to be NB-IoT chips, some of which have given up, and some are still working on it.

In the NB-IoT ecosystem, the scale of module companies planning to launch NB-IoT modules has once reached dozens or hundreds. Each module company has launched different module product models, and the number of module models has exceeded 200. as much. However, there are not many companies with stable and large-scale shipments in this fierce competition. The concentration of the top 5 domestic module manufacturers has been evaluated. At present, the concentration of the top 5 domestic NB-IoT module manufacturers can reach about 70-80%. It can be seen that the application of this industry still needs to be spread.

Whether at home or abroad, the development of NB-IoT industry applications follows a law: starting from the field of metering, expanding to more fields such as smart cities, asset positioning, and smart parking. NB-IoT gas meters, water meters, smoke detectors, electric vehicles, shared white goods, smart street lights, smart parking, smart agriculture, smart door locks, smart tracking and other application scenarios have been expanded to varying degrees.