LPWAN covers a group of wireless technologies – including LoRaWAN, NB-IoT, and LTE-M – that share the same trade-off: they send small amounts of data at low speed, but they can do it over kilometres on a battery that lasts years. A parking sensor or a water meter is an ideal LPWAN application.
The right LPWAN technology depends on what you need:
- LoRaWAN – unlicensed spectrum, you deploy your own gateway, best for private networks and rural sites
- NB-IoT – licensed cellular bands, uses operator infrastructure, best for deep indoor penetration and stationary devices
- LTE-M – licensed cellular, supports device mobility, best for moving assets that need cell handover
- Sigfox – unlicensed, operator-managed network, limited two-way communication
- Common advantage – all LPWAN technologies support years of battery life that Wi-Fi and Bluetooth cannot match