New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS): Global cellular internet of things (IoT) module shipments grew 70 per cent (on-year) in the third quarter this year and Qualcomm led the cellular IoT chipset market with more than one-third share, a new report said on Thursday.

In terms of overall revenue, the market crossed the $1.5-billion mark during the third quarter. China continued to dominate in terms of volume, followed by North America and Europe.

5G was the fastest growing technology (more than 700 per cent on-year) due to a lower base, according to data provided by Counterpoint Research's Global Cellular IoT Module, Chipset and Application Tracker.

"Chinese module players performed well during this quarter while some international players struggled. Quectel, Fibocom and China Mobile were the top three cellular IoT module players in China in terms of shipments. For the rest of the world, Quectel, Telit and Thales were the top three cellular IoT module players," said research analyst Soumen Mandal.

Smart meter, POS (point of sale) and retail were the top three fastest-growing applications.

The ongoing chip shortage had a negative impact on the automotive segment.

"Qualcomm is leading in the global cellular IoT chipset market with more than one-third share. However, the company lost nearly 4 per cent market share compared to the previous quarter," said vice president-research, Neil Shah.