Ericsson Puts Spotlight on Maximizing IoT to Drive Micromobility

Micromobility companies offer congested cities an alternative to cars for short distances. By taking full advantage of cellular IoT, a new Ericsson report guides micromobility companies on how they extend the lifespan of electric scooters, optimize asset tracking and cost-effectively manage logistics.

Micromobility is a growing mode of transport that has become a familiar sight in city centers worldwide. Self-service, shared lightweight electric bikes and scooters (e-scooter) offer people an affordable, accessible and sustainable transport solution. The micromobility market is expected to experience double-digit growth in the coming years, with an estimated CAGR of 16% during 2019–2027 (from USD 3 billion to USD 12 billion).

A new Connected Micromobility study, conducted in collaboration between Ericsson, Arthur D. Little, mobile operator Arkessa and micromobility operator Voi, outlines how micromobility companies can benefit from cellular Internet of Things (IoT) to address safety challenges and optimize operations. If cellular IoT is leveraged, micromobility operators can extend the life span of their fleet, accurately implement dynamic pricing with asset tracking and optimize more cost-efficient service diagnostics and logistics. These three benefits can create an annual value of up to USD 460,000 for an e-scooter operator in a single city, using 1 million inhabitants and a fleet of 3500 e-scooters as a baseline. In addition, with location-aware connected units, micromobility companies can set up safety zones by enforcing low speeds and recovering abandoned scooters.

According to International Transport Forum, there are also sustainability benefits of micromobility. Replacing car rides with electric scooters can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 61%. Increasing the life span of electric scooters can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 33%, and reducing congestion in cities can reduce CO2 emissions by 6%.

“Cellular IoT is not only a stepping stone for micromobility companies to improve and optimize their offerings; IoT has benefits for consumers, cities and the climate at large. By leveraging cellular connectivity IoT, we will see micromobility providers interact more with smart city infrastructure, and this is exciting to see,” says Kyle Okamoto, General Manager Internet of Things at Ericsson.

“We believe in cities free from congestion, noise, and pollution. We believe in cities where citizens can freely move around on their terms. To accomplish this, we have taken the most advanced technology including cellular IoT and made it accessible to everyone,” says Jonas Rundberg, VP Software Engineering at Voi.

Learn more by reading the full Connected Micromobility report and try the Micromobility Value Calculator to figure out the annual value of cellular IoT for micromobility companies.