Eseye Predicts 2025 Will Redefine IoT Connectivity: MNO Evolution, NB-IoT Decline, and the Rise of AIoT

Eseye

IoT Hardware and Connectivity Specialists

LinkedIn

• Transformation in the MNO model: Operators must embrace federated approaches and evolve their IoT platforms to remain competitive.
• Shift away from Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT): Enterprises will move towards universal, cost-effective solutions such as LTE and 5G instead.
• AI-driven IoT: AIoT will establish a foothold across three critical areas in IoT.

Eseye, a world leader in IoT connectivity solutions, has launched its much-anticipated 2025 IoT Predictions Report, to coincide with the 50th episode of its popular IoT Leaders podcast. Now in its 6th year, the annual report written by Eseye’s CEO Nick Earle and Co-Founder and CTO Ian Marsden identifies three key trends that will significantly reshape the IoT and telecom landscape from the players to the technologies themselves.

“The future of IoT is not a static landscape; it is a dynamic environment driven by flexibility, innovation, and convergence. 2025 will mark a pivotal moment in IoT’s evolution,” says Nick Earle, CEO of Eseye. “For MNOs to thrive in IoT, we believe they should adopt a federated approach to IoT connectivity which will create a much more viable economic model. NB-IoT will fall out of favour in most regions due to its siloed infrastructure and limited revenue potential, while AIoT will rise in adoption and play a critical role in intelligently optimising connectivity across devices and networks.”

Key trends explained for 2025: 

1. MNOs must evolve to retain market control for success

Traditional IoT platforms lack the flexibility to support global eUICC-compliant multi-operator connectivity for Enterprise customers, creating an urgent need for MNOs to adopt new solutions. Eseye’s AnyNet Federation offers operators a way to localise customer IoT devices to be ‘on-network’ across more than 16 major mobile networks, as well as providing access to 800 additional networks via roaming, all orchestrated through a low-cost cloud-based white-labelled SaaS platform solution.

“We will see a new breed of MNO IoT platform that solves in-country roaming and provides federated localisation and global eSIM orchestration. This will enable operators to be competitive and deliver flexible, seamless and highly scalable global connectivity solutions, while critically retaining control of their existing customer relationships,” said Ian Marsden, CTO of Eseye.

2. NB-IoT is on the decline as MNOs seek more scalable solutions

Initially positioned as a low-power, low-cost connectivity solution, NB-IoT is now losing momentum due to limited global adoption, increasing high infrastructure costs, and modem compatibility issues.

“Despite its technical advantages, NB-IoT has not achieved the critical mass needed to sustain the infrastructure required to keep it alive. With major operators like AT&T discontinuing support in 2025, we expect more MNOs will follow suit, favouring LTE and 5G as they are more versatile, economically viable and widely adopted,” Marsden continued.

3. The rise of AIoT – the ultimate game changer for IoT connectivity

The convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and IoT, known as AIoT, will rewrite the IoT connectivity playbook across three critical areas: device-level processing, the application layer and across the networking layer.

“Enterprises and MNOs will gain new capabilities: predictive maintenance that prevents failures before they occur, dynamic network management that adapts to changing conditions, and localised decision-making that reduces latency and improves reliability” explained Marsden. 

Eseye’s AnyNet SMARTconnect™ intelligent connectivity software is one example of an IoT solution already leveraging AI to enable adaptive, real-time connectivity management, allowing devices to intuitively respond to connectivity issues thus optimising performance.

A Future Shaped by Flexibility, Innovation, and Convergence

Eseye’s predictions for 2025 reflect a rapidly evolving IoT ecosystem driven by the need for greater flexibility, economic sustainability, and technological convergence.

Earle concluded, “The market is demanding intelligent, scalable and future-proofed solutions. Whether it’s MNOs adopting a federated connectivity model, enterprises moving away from NB-IoT, or the rise of AIoT, the message is clear — adaptability is key. Eseye is proud to be at the forefront of these changes, continuing to provide innovative connectivity solutions that empower MNOs and Enterprises to deploy IoT confidently on a global scale.”

To learn more about Eseye’s vision for IoT in 2025 and beyond:

• Download the full 2025 IoT Predictions Report here. 
• Listen to the 50th IoT Leaders Podcast here.

Eseye

IoT Hardware and Connectivity Specialists

LinkedIn

Eseye brings decades of end-to-end expertise to integrate and optimise IoT connectivity delivering near 100% uptime. From idea to implementation and beyond, we deliver lasting value from IoT. Nobody does IoT better.