• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, October 17, 2019

Outdoor surveillance cameras are getting hot.

While there are plenty of potential uses for the high-speed 5G cellular services coming down the pike, the biggest expected use by far is for outdoor surveillance cameras, according to a new study by Gartner.

Over the next three years, these cameras are projected to represent 70% of the Internet of Things endpoint installed base in 2020 before dropping to 32% by the end of 2023.

The new high speeds of 5G will be used in a wide range of cases, including outdoor surveillance cameras for 70% market share, connected cars (11%), fleet telematic devices (4%), emergency services (2%) and in-vehicle toll devices (1%).

The number of connected cameras will grow from about 3 million in 2020 to 6 million in 2021 and 11 million by 2022, according to Gartner.

In the long term, connected cars are expected to be the big winner in use of 5G. In 2023, connected cars are expected to represent 53% of the overall 5G IoT connections.

In the even longer term, 5G will become the main connectivity method for cars, reaching 95% in 2028. This will enable automatic messaging within and between vehicles, as well as with pedestrians and cyclists.

Meanwhile, those pedestrians, cyclists and drivers will be on camera, whether they notice or not.