5G RedCap, the specification designed to bring cellular 5G connectivity to internet of things (IoT) and other mobile devices that are not smartphones, is set for explosive growth in the next five years, reaching 80 million units by 2029, according to new data from ABI Research.
The growth will benefit from the second iteration of the RedCap standard, called enhanced RedCap (eRedCap), that will reduce device complexity even further than the original standard to further apply to IoT devices. These LTE devices will serve as a pool of applications that will represent a greater market opportunity than the current 5G RedCap, ABI said.
From 2024 to 2029, 56 million modules, or 71% of all RedCap modules, will be due to eRedCap, with 23 million modules, or about 29%, for 5G RedCap.
“5G RedCap is a series of network and device optimizations that strips back device complexity, acting as a natural successor to LTE Cat-4 and LTE Cat-6,” said Jonthan Budd, industry analyst at ABI Research. “It is a means of providing an affordable pathway to 5G for IoT device OEMs that do not require the full spectrum of 5G capabilities. The mid-tier LTE Categories have proven valuable in connecting IoT devices; RedCap delivers LTE-equivalent throughput performance, with assurance of network longevity into the 5G era.”
Vendors are jumping on board as well with Qualcomm, MediaTek, UNISOC and ASR Microelectronics entering the chipset market for 5G RedCap. Sequans also recently announced it would develop an eRedCap chip with ABI Research expecting many other vendors to follow with eRedCap chipsets soon.
What is RedCap?
The 5G RedCap specification was released with the 3GPP standard. It is designed to provide 5G capabilities to less complex devices that also consume less power.
While smartphones use full-featured 5G chipsets, these are unable to be placed inside devices like smartwatches, augmented reality glasses and other IoT devices used for healthcare, asset tracking, smart home systems, fleet management and more.
5G RedCap core design has a maximum bandwidth of 20 MHz with a single carrier and comes without the requirement to aggregate multiple carries together. This allows for simpler and small antenna designs with one transmitter and one or two receivers, unlike the more complex designs required for 5G smartphones.
Not surprisingly, telecoms along with wireless equipment makers and communication vendors are looking to RedCap to expand their reach with 5G into areas that cannot be served normally with current technologies on the market.
The good news also is that 5G RedCap while reduced in capability still takes advantage of the benefits of the 5G network like improved bandwidth, download speeds and latency.
