Telefónica has consolidated its position as one of the leading providers of global IoT connectivity, according to the recent report “Communications Service Provider (CSP) IoT Peer Benchmarking Report 2025” by Transforma Insights. The analysis firm acknowledges that “Telefónica continues to occupy a prominent position among the leading communications service providers for another year, thanks in large part to its in-depth industry knowledge, the extensive capabilities of Telefónica Tech and the incorporation of interesting capabilities into its connectivity offering”.
The Transforma Insights report, which is based on a detailed analysis of the strategies and capabilities of the 27 leading global providers of cellular connectivity for IoT, concludes that “Telefónica has perhaps the most comprehensive set of vertical offerings to address IoT across a wide range of sectors, including smart cities, healthcare and industry”.
Telefónica, which offers its IoT connectivity services through Telefónica Tech, has been recognised primarily for the robustness of its infrastructure, its Kite managed IoT connectivity platform and its range of advanced solutions for digitally transforming different sectors of activity.
Transforma Insights reflects that Telefónica Tech’s Kite platform offers numerous advanced features such as SIM card management and orchestration, open APIs, and data visualisation dashboards that include enhanced artificial intelligence capabilities to, among other things, detect anomalies in the behaviour of customers’ IoT devices.
The study highlights that Telefónica Tech has a robust portfolio of big data solutions that enable it to analyse both telecommunications data generated by network users and data from IoT sensors and external sources (including business customers, partners, and weather or traffic information).
These big data and artificial intelligence capabilities are included in the Kite platform, which also features “IoT Data Ready” functions to facilitate the integration of Kite with hyperscale cloud platforms, and “Asset Control”, a Kite module that allows the digitisation of customers’ fixed assets deployed in the field in order to access information and act on them, such as tank or reservoir fill levels, machinery geolocation, or lighting on/off status.
Carlos Carazo, global director of product, technology and IoT operations at Telefónica Tech, states: “The IoT allows objects to be brought to life, transforming them from analogue things into connected devices capable of securely exchanging data. In short, we see the IoT as the eyes and ears that capture information from the environment so that other technologies, such as artificial intelligence, can function as the brain and interpret and analyse it to help organisations make more informed business decisions.”
Leadership in the Spanish IoT market
In September 2025, Telefónica exceeded 51 million active IoT connections worldwide after reporting SIM card deployments in more than 190 countries.
The company is currently the leader in the Spanish IoT market, exceeding 12 million lines at the end of the third quarter of 2025 after adding 7.6 million new lines in the last 12 months, representing year-on-year growth of 163%, largely due to new use cases linked to mobility, health and the digitalisation of infrastructure in sectors such as water, gas and industry.
Mobility is playing a key role in this growth, as Telefónica Tech is providing its IoT connectivity to more than 70% of the DGT certified V-16 connected beacon models, which will replace emergency triangles on a mandatory basis from 1 January 2026. In the healthcare sector, the company is also providing its IoT connectivity to detect unusual behaviour in elderly or vulnerable people with the aim of alerting carers or social services and preventing incidents.
In sectors such as water and gas, IoT connectivity is transforming traditional meters into smart meters to facilitate remote reading and enable the anticipation of possible infrastructure failures or atypical consumption, while in industry, the company is providing connectivity between devices to optimise processes and accelerate the transition to Industry 4.0.