Wireless Technologies for IoT | Part 1

IoT: What is it?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the concept of creating a giant network with billions of connected devices around the world. All these devices are connected to the internet, some might be connected to other devices, and they aggregate big data for specific purposes that can be useful for analysis, for acquisition or to impact the wider economy.

IoT provides many industries with a scalable opportunity to be more efficient in how we do things, saving us resource, time and even promoting green.

How do Wireless Technologies work for IoT Connect?

While all IoT devices send and receive information wirelessly, they don’t do it in exactly the same way. There are different ways to connect your devices, and some are better suited to certain applications than others. Factors like battery life, range of coverage, power requirements and speed must all be taken into account when deciding which option to use for a given application. So what are these technologies and when do we use them?

LPWAN

Low-power wide area network (LPWAN) is a type of wireless wide area network and it’s the key technology that runs the IoT world. It provides us with connectivity over very long distances, up to 20 km, using narrowband frequencies with ultra-low power consumption.

LPWAN technologies fill the gap between mobile (4G/5G) and short-range wireless networks (e.g. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and ZigBee) and they are great for industrial applications. By placing and connecting various types of sensors, we can gather real-time data and run different kind of applications from health & safety monitors to environmental sensors across a vast area, like a city. LPWAN technology is the future, and it’s already here. Vodafone UK spent ￡10m launching a NB-IoT testbed in 2015 which had the aim of creating a Smart City, for example. If LPWAN can scale to better connect a city, imagine the impact it can have for the construction industry!

We can choose among many different LPWAN networks (LoRa, Sigfox, NB-IoT, etc.) which allow for brilliant functionality, cost-effectiveness and quick installation. Due to the flexibility LPWAN offers, this technology will become more popular as we advance in the coming years, and for best results to future-proof, it will be the early-adopters that will always have the edge.

5G

On the other side of the spectrum, we have the new global wireless standard, the cellular next-gen 5G, which is the core technology of the future’s connectivity.

Using different frequencies from previous standards, 5G is made to provide much higher speed data delivery with ultra-low latency (the time it takes for a data packet to travel from one point to another) and an extended capacity, allowing thousands of devices in a small area to be connected at the same time. That means 5G provides us with the opportunity to transform every industry by adding autonomous machines and vehicles, each performing remote operations in real time, sending high-quality video information at the blink of an eye, and much more!

To summarise, while LPWAN offers a plentiful supply of data to the industries allowing them to gain insights into their operations much better than before, 5G brings new capabilities that will create opportunities for people, businesses and society by creating a much smarter, faster and safer future.

?Nikos Eleftherakis, Network Support Agent, Tardis4G | www.tardis4g.uk

A bit about the author:

Nikos is a Network Support Agent of Tardis, UK’s leading provider of construction site broadband solutions. Being a graduate of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and having experience working for a major Telecom company, Nikos is following his strong passion about technology and is taking every effort to develop his skills, while wanting to contribute to a better, more sustainable future.