Direct-to-Cell Revenue to Reach $2.8 Billion by 2029

A new study by Juniper Research anticipates that the first year of commercial direct-to-cell services will be 2025, generating a modest $30 million in revenue globally. However, the analytics specialist forecasts that operators will generate almost $1.7 billion by 2029.

Despite this impressive 8,000% growth, the study predicts that operators will face challenges in securing a return on their substantial investment in the creation of direct-to-cell networks. Owing to the demand for connectivity and remote monitoring from nomadic industries, such as maritime, the report predicts that low-power connections will represent the most prominent use case for direct-to-cell. However, these connections will generate an average of less than $2.00 per month; diminishing operators’ ability to secure a return on investment.

Given the commoditization of mobile connectivity, the study also predicts that operators will struggle to convince mobile subscribers to adopt an additional subscription for direct-to-cell services on top of existing cellular plans. As such, we urge operators to focus on tailoring direct-to-cell services specifically to nomadic travelers and remote subscribers.

“Operators must promote the substantial coverage their direct-to-cell networks serve and apply premium pricing for data-intensive connections for broadband and consumer use cases. This will attract users of profitable direct-to-cell services, such as mobile broadband and smartphone subscriptions,” remarked research author Sam Barker.