J61 · Telecommunications · 3 regions
Cellular IoT connections
Global: 4.5 billion in end of 2025. Ericsson projects 7.8 billion for 2031.
- 4.5 billion Latest · Global · end of 2025
- Annual Release cadence
- 4 Records · 3 regions · 2025–2031
Verified 1 Oct 2026 · 3 publishers
Over time
Global over time, then selected latest values by region. Forecasts are dashed with hollow markers; the underlying values are one click away under the chart.
Cellular IoT connections
Global, end of 2025 to 2031
Forecast: dashed line, hollow markers, shaded band Estimates are listed as such in the table below
View the underlying data
| Period | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|
| end of 2025 | Estimate | 4.5 billion |
| 2031 | Forecast | 7.8 billion |
Forecasts are dashed, with hollow markers.
Cellular IoT connections by region
Latest value per region, periods differ
Estimate Latest available period per row; periods differ
Latest available period per row; years differ.
Every record
4 records · 3 regions · 2025–2031. Each period links to its record: the value, its source evidence and original document.
| Period | Value | Source | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global 2 records | |||
| 2031 | 7.8 billion | Ericsson · 16 Jun 2026 | forecast |
| end of 2025 | 4.5 billion | Ericsson · 16 Jun 2026 | estimate |
| China 1 record | |||
| 2025 | 2.89 billion | MIIT · 28 Jan 2026 | |
| India 1 record | |||
| September 2025 | 94.6 million | TRAI · 27 Oct 2025 | |
Download this data
Every file carries its provenance: the CSV has a source column per row, and the chart images print the publisher, the licence and this page's address under the drawing. Source: Ericsson, MIIT, TRAI. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
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Use and publication rights
- View, cite and link: free
Quote any number, cite this page or a single record, and link to it anywhere.
- Copy, chart and republish: free with attribution
The data is published under CC BY 4.0, commercial use included. Credit StatOrigin and the original publisher (Ericsson, MIIT, TRAI); the chart files already carry that line.
- The source documents: the publisher's terms
Figures are facts read from the publishers' own documents. The documents themselves, their text and design, stay under each publisher's terms; follow the source links for those.
How this measure is built
- Definition
- Total number of cellular Internet of Things (machine-to-machine) connections in the region at the end of the period.
- Measure
- One slice of Cellular IoT connections ( form: count ) . Total count of active cellular machine-to-machine and internet of things connections. Region and period are columns on every record, not slices.
- Limitations
- Publishers release on different schedules, so the latest period differs by region; compare regions on the same period. 1 figure is a projection, drawn dashed and labelled in the table. Values are shown as published; StatOrigin does not revise, fill gaps or convert currencies.
- Verification
- Each value, unit, period and place was checked against its source evidence before publication. See the methodology and the corrections process.
Sources · 3 documents
| Document | Publisher | Published | Data points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025年通信业统计公报 (2025 Communications Industry Statistical Bulletin) | MIIT | 28 Jan 2026 | 1 |
| Telecom Subscription Data as on 30 September 2025 | TRAI | 27 Oct 2025 | 1 |
| Ericsson Mobility Report June 2026 - IoT connections outlook | Ericsson | 16 Jun 2026 | 2 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the latest cellular IoT connections?
Global: 4.5 billion in end of 2025. Ericsson projects 7.8 billion for 2031.
Where does this data come from?
From 3 documents published by Ericsson, MIIT, TRAI. Every figure on this page links to its record, which preserves the original source evidence.
How often is it updated?
Annual. The newest published period is end of 2025. A new figure appears here once the publisher releases it and it passes verification.
Can I use this data?
Yes. StatOrigin publishes it under CC BY 4.0: you may copy, chart and republish it, including commercially, with attribution to StatOrigin and to the original publisher.
Cite this page
Cite the page as a data set, or open any record to cite one figure: each record carries APA, MLA, Chicago and BibTeX forms that credit the original publisher.
StatOrigin. (2026). Cellular IoT connections [Data set]. Retrieved October 28, 2026, from https://statorigin.org/indicators/global-cellular-iot-connections
"Cellular IoT connections." StatOrigin, 2026, https://statorigin.org/indicators/global-cellular-iot-connections. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.
StatOrigin. "Cellular IoT connections." Data set, 2026. Accessed October 28, 2026. https://statorigin.org/indicators/global-cellular-iot-connections.
@misc{statorigin_global_cellular_iot_connections_2026, title = {Cellular IoT connections}, author = {{StatOrigin}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://statorigin.org/indicators/global-cellular-iot-connections}, note = {Data set. Accessed 2026-10-28} }