Market Outlook
Market Outlook
(Updated August 8, 2025)
Bittium’s customers operate in various industries, each having its own industry-specific factors driving the demand. A common factor creating demand among the whole customer base is the growing need for higher quality and secure data transfer. Due to the technology competencies accrued over time and the long history of developing mobile communication solutions, Bittium is in a good position to offer customized connectivity solutions to its customers. Over thirty years of experience and extensive competence in measuring biosignals also act as a basis for medical technology solutions.
Bittium has identified several business, market, and finance-related risk factors and uncertainties that can affect the level of sales and profits. The global geopolitical instability has caused various risks related to demand and supply and increased uncertainty.
Read more information about risks and uncertainties here.
Defense & Security
Development of the Business and Market Outlook January-June 2025
Uncertainty and changes in the global political situation have led to increased defense funds, which has affected the demand for defense industry products and services. The increased defense funds have been allocated in the first phase mainly to consumer goods and vehicle acquisition, but in the future, budgets will also be allocated to modernization and development projects for the defense forces’ tactical communication. This has already been clearly reflected in the growing interest in Bittium’s tactical communication solutions.
In particular increased defense funds in NATO countries are expected to increase the number of tactical communication modernization and development projects in the future, which is expected to have a positive impact on the demand for Bittium’s defense and government products. Finland’s NATO membership has enabled broad visibility of Bittium’s products and systems in NATO exercises, which increases the awareness of the products in the international market.
Political uncertainty is also expected to be reflected in increased cooperation between different defense actors, especially within Europe. The desire to strive for Europe’s own independent security of supply is also expected to increase cooperation between different countries.
Bittium products are involved in several international customer pilots and tenders, where customers test products for their tactical communications needs of various scales. Often, the first phase involves trial use of products by small forces, such as special forces or various units of the defense branches. Pilot use is often followed by a broader tendering phase, depending on the national process of each country. The long sales cycles of the defense industry have a slowing effect on sales development and make it difficult to predict.
Bittium’s tactical communication system and radios are technologically state-of-the-art, developed and tested to operate in extremely harsh conditions. The system and radios are both modern and physically durable, as well as highly resistant to interference. In addition, Bittium’s tactical communication system enables the integration of different technologies into it, such as 4G/5G bubbles. In the defense market, in tactical communications, national defense forces and other authorities need networks where increasingly mobile network users can reliably and securely transfer ever-increasing amounts of data.
To support its business growth, Bittium launched a comprehensive range of tactical communications lifecycle services at the end of June. The services maximize the operational runtime and performance of tactical communications solutions, enable on boarding and training for defense customers, and local maintenance and repair capabilities.
The implementation of the Partnership Agreement with the Finnish Defence Forces continued as planned. Under the Partnership Agreement, the Defence Forces ordered Bittium TACWIN software-defined radio system products and Tough Comnode devices and related equipment. The value of the purchase order is EUR 7.9 million and the products will be delivered during 2025 and 2026. In April, Bittium demonstrated a hybrid tactical communications network together with Nokia for the Defence Forces. The hybrid network enables the integration of multiple 4G/5G bubbles as part of the tactical communications network and cooperation with
other authorities using 4G/5G networks.
The Defense & Security Business Segment’s strategic goal is to grow in the international defense market and win new international customers. Efforts to accelerate international sales continued and Bittium received an order for a data transmission solution based on Tough SDR radios from the defense forces of a European country. The solution will be used for testing by the country’s special forces and the products will be delivered during 2025.
The supply of new tactical communications solutions to the Croatian Navy and Army continued as planned, with Bittium receiving an order for Bittium TAC WIN software-defined radio system products and Bittium Tough SDR Vehicular radios. The order is part of a four-year Framework Agreement between Bittium’s partner and the Croatian Armed Forces. In Austria, the implementation of Bittium’s tactical communications system by the local army continued, and deliveries of system products, as well as their integration and testing, continued. Preparations with BAE Systems for the UK’s first tactical communications product tender have continued as planned.
The general cyber security market is growing globally, which is also reflected in the market for secure smartphones and software solutions enabling secure mobile communication. The use of secure mobile solutions is increasing in the government market, which also creates demand for secure Bittium Tough Mobile™ smartphones, customer-specific special terminals based on Bittium’s product platform, and Bittium’s secure mobile communication software solutions. Bittium announced that the secure Bittium SafeMove Mobile VPN and Bittium Secure Call software are now also available for iOS operating system users in addition to Android and Windows operating systems. The company will strengthen its efforts related to the export of these software solutions to the market. Sales of terminals and software solutions are expected to develop moderately in line with the nature of the government market.
Cooperation with Mexican partner Inmosat continued as new government organizations adopted satellite communications as part
of their communications systems. In June, a pilot batch of secure Bittium Tough Mobile 2 phones was delivered to Inmosat.
Medical
Development of the Business and Market Outlook January-June 2025
As the population ages, the prevalence of arrhythmias, especially atrial fibrillation and obstructive sleep apnea, increases significantly. Both diseases cause other cardiovascular diseases and stroke that are costly to society. Medical research findings have increased significantly in recent years, and with regard to atrial fibrillation, studies have shown, for example, that all people aged 65 and older should be screened for atrial fibrillation. This has also been mentioned in the new international clinical practice guideline. The diagnostic standard for screening is a single-channel long-term ECG measurement.
The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea has increased significantly over the past couple of decades. Today, almost 30% of the elderly suffer from sleep apnea. The most significant factors contributing to the increase are age, obesity, and global warming. Untreated obstructive sleep apnea significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, which is why its early diagnosis has begun to receive more attention. There has been a strong focus on diagnosing sleep apnea by healthcare professionals. The impact of early diagnosis has been seen initially in the United States and has slowly begun to grow in Europe as well.
The widespread use of artificial intelligence and new AI-based solutions for identifying arrhythmias and sleep apnea have made diagnosing diseases more efficient and faster. There is an emphasis on preventing diseases and health problems through early diagnostics, and the need for remote monitoring is growing.
Preventing health problems requires enabling accurate monitoring and measurement outside the hospital, which brings specialist diagnoses to use regardless of time and place. These needs are met by Bittium’s Bittium Faros™ ECG measuring device for long-term heart measurement and monitoring, Bittium Respiro™ for home testing of sleep apnea, EMG measuring device for muscle activation measurement, and diagnostic software offered by Bittium. Bittium BrainStatus™ for measuring electrical activity of the brain is used in intensive care units.
The development of medical device sales is influenced by different treatment and reimbursement practices, which vary from country to country, affecting the pace of development of the remote diagnostics market. This affects Bittium’s geographical focus on countries with good insurance reimbursement.
Regulatory authorities also play a major role in bringing medical devices to market, and requirements vary from country to country. The processes are demanding and time-consuming, and the company has invested in developing the necessary expertise over the past year. Bittium has several ongoing development projects aimed at medical device approvals in different countries.
A significant portion of the Medical Business Segment’s net sales was generated from ECG measurement devices sold to the US customer Boston Scientific Cardiac Diagnostics. Boston Scientific is one of the leading providers of ECG measurement services in the US and despite geopolitical uncertainties, the cooperation continued well. In June, Bittium and Boston Scientific signed a new agreement under which Bittium will supply Boston Scientific with ECG devices for measuring cardiac arrhythmias. The cooperation will also continue in the development of customized ECG technologies. The total value of the new agreement is approximately USD 30–45 million, with revenue accruing during 2025–2028.
Although the market for ECG measuring devices is growing, the market is fragmented in Europe and Asia, which is why increasing volumes requires long-term work. Bittium is strongly focusing on accelerating international sales and commercializing products during the current strategy period.
Bittium has continued its sales efforts for Respiro in the European market, delivering products to its customers in small quantities for commercial use. Bittium is focusing on finding suitable strategic partners in the European market.
During the first half of the year, the company has strengthened its organization and regulatory expertise. Measures to improve operational efficiency have been continued. The company went through change negotiations in its subsidiary Bittium Biosignals Ltd, as a result of which the company laid off a total of 18 employees for financial, production and operational restructuring reasons. Operations were also streamlined in the Medical Business Segment in the United States. If the layoffs are fully implemented, as well as with other measures aimed at streamlining operations and processes, the company estimates that it will achieve annual savings of approximately EUR 2.0 million. The savings are estimated to realize in full from 2026 onwards. As a result of the decisions and measures taken, the company recorded non-recurring costs totaling approximately EUR 0.9 million in the income statement for the second quarter of 2025.
The strategy of the Medical business segment will be further specified during the autumn.
Engineering Services
Development of the Business and Market Outlook January-June 2025
In mobile communications, the implementation of 5G technology is progressing on both the network and terminal side. The large number of radio frequencies allocated to 5G technology increases the number of frequency versions of the products needed, thereby creating demand for the development of product variants.
Many of Bittium’s customers develop their own products and services seasonally according to their needs. The need for R&D partner varies within the same cycle, causing large annual differences in the volume of projects carried out with the customer.
Cooperation with existing key customers has continued well. Customer projects included medical devices, embedded wireless IoT devices as part of a larger system, smart sensors, network-side radios, and satellite terminals. In the second quarter, Bittium received follow-up orders for existing projects, and we were able to gain new customers, e.g. from the manufacturing industry.
In line with the updated strategy, the Engineering Services Business Segment is also seeking growth in the defense industry market, where it offers engineering service expertise for products and services that require embedded and wireless device design expertise. Such products include, for example, various sensors, data links and antennas. Sales efforts in the defense market have continued and Bittium has won several small customer projects from the defense industry, mainly from Europe, during the past year.
Bittium has been involved in designing a next-generation satellite terminal prototype during the current year. The project continued in the second quarter of the year when the company received an order to promote the next development phase, which will enable direct satellite connection to mobile devices. The solution allows ordinary smartphones to establish a direct connection to satellites for, for example, text messages, chat, voice and email. The 3GPP-standardized 5G NTN technology used in the satellite terminal enables a major change in the satellite communications segment, enabling mainstream technological solutions for both the network and terminal side. This change can bring new players to the market, also expanding Bittium’s customer potential.
With digitalization, the secure Internet of Things (IoT) is a significant development area in almost all industries. Demand for Bittium’s R&D services and customized solutions is created by the growing need of companies to digitalize their operations, collect data wirelessly, transfer data to the Internet and cloud services, and monitor and control devices and systems remotely. To this end, the market needs secure devices for both demanding industrial use and leisure applications that collect information from the sensors used by the device and create a reliable wireless connection for the device to the Internet and cloud services.
The market situation for product development services has been challenging due to geopolitical uncertainty and the resulting changes in the market. In particular, customers in the manufacturing industry have had to postpone or cancel R&D projects due to cost-cutting pressures. US trade policy has caused uncertainty in the markets and thus delayed the start of new projects. As the number of R&D services projects has been lower, a portion of the Business Segment’s software developers have been involved in customer projects in the Defense & Security Business Segment, which has enabled the employment of the personnel to remain at a good level.
The market situation is expected to remain challenging for the rest of the year. Visibility in the R&D services business is very short and fluctuations in the market situation can cause significant changes on a rapid schedule.