Why IoT Connectivity Providers Need to Embrace VoLTE/VoNR/IMS

Transforma Insights’ analysts have tracked the rise of the Internet of Things over the last 15 years. Predominantly, IoT devices are equated with for the transfer of (largely non-real-time) data.

However, as explored in a recent report, sponsored by ng-voice, there is a significant proportion of IoT applications that also need to support voice services of various types. The reality is that ‘voice’ covers a huge diversity of potential scenarios, from two-way communications (such as for doorbells), to emergency crash notifications, to push-to-talk messaging, and many more.

This article explores the need for IoT to support voice, requiring scalable VoLTE/VoNR/IMS from connectivity providers.

The IoT Connectivity Market and Voice Support

Through a segmentation of Transforma Insights’ highly granular IoT market forecasts we can quantify the volume of IoT connections and revenue that will have a requirement for voice services.

The headline figure is that by 2033 almost 20 percent of IoT devices are in a category of use case that has a requirement for voice support, up from 14 percent in 2023. The 2024 figure equates to 1.4 billion connections.

The proportion of connectivity revenue that is dependent on supporting voice is even greater. By 2033 of the almost USD80 billion global cellular IoT connectivity revenue opportunity, 22 percent is generated by applications that will need to support voice.

Transforma Insights

This naturally begs the question: which applications and use cases demand voice? Cellular IoT applications are divided into automotive and non-automotive, highlighting the auto sector's importance.

Automotive applications often require voice services for eCall, roadside assistance, fleet management, and more. Connected vehicles account for 33 percent of cellular IoT connections and 46 percent of cellular revenue in 2023.

As such, the requirement for supporting voice within this sub-set of IoT will be a major consideration. Automotive represents over 60 percent of voice service demand in IoT applications.

Additionally, there is a wide variety of other use cases that also demand support for voice, including intercoms, lone worker safety, connected elevators, and assisted living.

Most Use Cases Demand VoLTE/VoNR/IMS

The use cases identified involve a range of approaches and requirement for delivering ‘voice’. Most require native IP voice support, utilizing established mobile communication standards.

This means VoLTE today, transitioning to VoNR with 5G, alongside IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) functionality. There are several reasons for this.

Firstly, many IoT deployments are supporting ‘critical’ applications, which require robust and secure mechanisms for communication. In some cases, the technology to be used will even be specified by regulations, as is the case with eCall.

Also, many applications require integrating voice with data like video feeds, patient info, or location.

In such circumstances, the use of the main alternative, Over-the-Top (OTT), voice would be inappropriate. OTT voice, of the type seen with, for instance, WhatsApp, is typically less robust and reliable and lacks the ability to integrate voice with data as part of a session.

The chart below shows top IoT applications requiring voice services, highlighting scale, criticality, and connectivity revenue. It also details the need to enrich voice sessions with additional data.

In most cases there is a moderate to high demand for resilient connectivity and the ability to integrate voice and data. All this points to the use of VoLTE.

Transforma Insights

We should note that the momentum behind VoLTE is in part driven by the switch-off of 2G and 3G networks. Prior to this, devices predominantly using 4G connectivity have had the option of Circuit Switched Fall Back (CSFB) whereby a multi-mode device would use 2G/3G networks for the voice call element of the application. With 2G/3G refarming, that option will be increasingly rare.

Scalable IoT Connectivity VoLTE/VoNR/IMS Solution

As noted above, an increasing amount of the IoT connectivity market depends on supporting voice services and specifically VoLTE/VoNR/IMS. As such any IoT connectivity provider will need such functionality within their proposition.

The continuing pressure on IoT connectivity prices means that they will specifically need a cost-effective and scalable approach to supporting it.

Transforma Insights

As part of the report, Transforma Insights noted eleven characteristics of an optimized voice capability for IoT, ranging from being secure and compliant to being flexible in call routing and able to enrich calls with contextual information. IoT connectivity providers should demand that any voice solution they deploy meets these requirements.

Communications Service Providers must give careful consideration to the commercial scalability of the voice technology solution. Few will have millions of dollars spare to invest in over-provisioned functionality. Instead, they will want a minimal up-front commitment and then scale by number of users with proven technology scalability.

Virtual Briefing

If you would like to learn more about the optimum approach to supporting voice services in IoT, you can join our free virtual briefing on November 5th 2024, in which Transforma Insights and ng-voice explain why IoT applications increasingly need to support voice, which technologies are available and appropriate to deliver voice services, and the best way for connectivity providers to implement a scalable capability.