Verizon secured a position in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Managed IoT Connectivity Services Worldwide, extending its lead over domestic rivals AT&T and T-Mobile in the closely watched industry benchmark.
Gartner’s Magic Quadrant ranks technology vendors on two axes — completeness of vision and ability to execute — placing top performers in a “Leaders” quadrant that carries significant weight with enterprise procurement teams.
Still, the original source material provided by PhoneArena offers limited detail on the specific criteria Verizon met or the scores it received in this cycle’s evaluation.
What the Gartner Ranking Means
Managed IoT connectivity services refer to carrier-managed platforms that connect, monitor, and control internet-of-things devices — think fleet sensors, smart meters, and industrial equipment — across wide-area networks.
Enterprises frequently use Gartner Magic Quadrant placements to shortlist vendors before signing long-term connectivity contracts, making a Leaders designation commercially valuable.
Verizon has repeatedly appeared in Gartner’s IoT-related evaluations in recent years, a track record that reinforces its positioning with large business customers seeking network reliability at scale.
Where AT&T and T-Mobile Stand
Neither AT&T nor T-Mobile matched Verizon’s placement in this edition of the ranking, according to the PhoneArena report.
That gap matters in enterprise sales cycles, where third-party analyst validation often influences contract decisions worth tens of millions of dollars.
T-Mobile has aggressively expanded its business-facing IoT portfolio since completing its Sprint merger in 2020, but it has not consistently matched Verizon’s Gartner scores in this specific category.
AT&T, by contrast, operates one of the largest IoT connectivity platforms in North America, managing hundreds of millions of connected devices globally, yet this cycle it did not claim the top Gartner tier alongside Verizon.
Verizon’s IoT Business
Verizon’s business segment — which houses its IoT and enterprise services — generated $29.4 billion in revenue in 2023, according to Verizon's annual filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company serves customers across industries including manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and utilities through its ThingSpace IoT management platform.
IoT connections on U.S. carrier networks continue to grow rapidly. CTIA, the U.S. wireless industry association, reported that connected device numbers on domestic networks have climbed steadily as 5G buildouts lower the cost and latency of machine-to-machine communication.
Globally, the managed IoT connectivity market is expanding as enterprises migrate legacy systems to cloud-managed networks, increasing demand for carriers that can offer end-to-end device management alongside raw connectivity.
Gartner publishes its Magic Quadrant reports through a research subscription service and periodically updates vendor placements as market conditions and product capabilities shift.
