What is Low-Power Wide-Area Internet of Things (LPWAN)?

Overview

The rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) industry has led to a massive number of IoT devices requiring network connectivity and stable, reliable communication. Traditional communication technologies such as WiFi, cellular networks, and satellite networks require substantial energy to operate. Connecting a vast number of sensing devices would consume enormous amounts of power and incur high costs, making them unsuitable for the broader IoT environment.

LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) technology has become increasingly popular in recent years alongside the development of IoT. According to a new research report released in 2021 by Global Market Insights Inc., the market size exceeded $2.5 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 60% from 2021 to 2027. By 2027, the LPWAN market size is expected to surpass $80 billion.

The architecture of IoT can be simply divided into three layers:

• Perception Layer: Collects data from the environment through sensors, also known as the physical layer.
• Network Layer: Transmits or processes the collected data information through networks and communication protocols.
• Application Layer: Provides end-users with application-specific services, including applications used to interact with the system.

Low Power Wide Area Network refers to a category of technologies developed as cost-effective networks for IoT applications. Due to their higher power efficiency, their operational costs are lower than those of traditional mobile networks. Compared to conventional network solutions, LPWANs can also support more devices over larger areas. This makes LPWAN an excellent choice for the data communication needs of IoT and machine learning applications that utilize a vast number of connected devices and sensors. The two main LPWAN technologies are LoRa and NB-IoT, one being a non-cellular technology and the other leveraging existing mobile communication networks.

Historical Development

Before cellular networks became commercially available, many industries had already adopted M2M (Machine-to-Machine) methods similar to today's for low-power terminal IoT connectivity, using topologies and network architectures comparable to current ones. Typical applications included the following categories:

DataTAC: This narrowband data network technology was initially developed by American MDI (Mobile Data International), using ARDIS network technology (a collaboration between IBM and Motorola), operating in the 800MHz band with a data transmission rate of 19.2 kb/s. Its characteristics included good data penetration, and it was used in security, fleet tracking, credit card authorization, and sales automation. ARDIS covered regions including the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, and even Hong Kong. By 1996, it had over 44,000 global users, but fees were relatively high at the time: $39 per month (for 100 messages) or 3 cents per 100 bytes.

Mobitex: This technology was developed by Swedish Televerket Radio and later refined by Ericsson. It operated in the 400-450MHz band in Europe, using 12.5kHz bandwidth for data transmission with a maximum rate of 8 kb/s and coverage up to 30 km. It was used in public transportation, security, and other projects, playing a significant role during the US 9/11 incident. Mobitex was deployed in over 30 countries and regions worldwide, forming a large number of operators. In the UK, all vehicle fault information was transmitted to service providers via this technology. However, with the rise of GSM, it gradually declined and was eventually completely shut down.

AlarmNet: Developed by Honeywell specifically for fire alarm data communication, it used the license-free 928MHz band with very low transmission rates. To this day, this technology remains one of the key services of Honeywell's alarm networking systems.

With the proliferation of cellular technology, digital mobile phones officially began advancing in 1995 (with network speeds of only 9.6 kB/s at the time). As GSM was deployed globally, more manufacturers embedded GPRS modules into devices, leading to rapid declines in module costs and data fees. 2G technology gradually disrupted the aforementioned technologies, and GPRS dominated for a long period, enabling rapid growth in markets like wireless meter reading and wireless public phones. By 2020, operators were primarily promoting 4G networks, 5G was poised for commercial use, and 2G networks were being phased out. However, a vast number of IoT devices required low-power, low-rate, wide-coverage connectivity. In this era, new technologies emerged. LoRa and NB-IoT technologies became increasingly accepted in various scenarios, marking our entry into the Low Power Wide Area Network era. Similar technologies in the market include:

• NB-IoT: NB-IoT is built on cellular networks, consuming only about 180kHz of bandwidth. It can be directly deployed on GSM, UMTS, or LTE networks to reduce deployment costs and enable smooth upgrades.
• LoRa: A low-power local area wireless standard developed by Semtech Corporation.
• Sigfox: An ultra-narrowband technology developed by French company Sigfox.
• LTE-M: LTE-M is a wireless system provided by the industry association GSMA and the standards organization 3GPP. A major advantage of LTE-M is its potential for global connectivity, and it is the only system suitable for long-term tracking of moving objects. This technology can improve indoor and outdoor coverage, supporting network architectures with massive numbers of low-throughput devices, low latency sensitivity, ultra-low device cost, and low device power consumption.
• mioty: mioty is a patented technology originating from the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS), adopted by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) as the Telegram Splitting Ultra Narrowband (TS-UNB) technical specification within the Low Throughput Networks (LTN) series, licensed to BehrTech for commercialization. The technology's modulation is based on Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK), with a claimed coverage range of 15 km and battery life of up to 20 years.
• Weightless: Weightless is a wireless connectivity specification for LPWANs designed specifically for IoT, using Sub-GHz license-free bands. The Weightless Special Interest Group (SIG) is a non-profit global standards organization responsible for coordinating work related to the Weightless standards.
• RPMA (Random Phase Multiple Access): A proprietary LPWAN technology stack developed by Ingenu. The company was founded in 2008 in San Diego, California, by former Qualcomm engineers, initially named On-Ramp Wireless.
• Wize: Originates from the European standard EN-13757 Wireless M-bus. Wize is an IoT standard defined by the Wize Alliance, primarily targeting applications like wireless metering, smart cities, and industrial IoT. Wize operates in the 169MHz band.
• Telensa: A company supplying wireless monitoring systems, applying its smart wireless technology to markets such as healthcare, security, vehicle tracking, and smart metering, with a particular focus on remote control and management of street lighting and parking.
• NB-Fi: An IoT standard developed by WAVIoT. This technical standard supports up to 4.3 billion devices in a single network, each with a 32-bit ID.

Current Development Status

According to the "LPWAN Market Report 2021-2026" released by IoT Analytics in 2021, despite the impact of the pandemic and chipset shortages, the Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) market continues to experience rapid growth. The current situation is based on the following directions:

Integration Primarily Around Four Key Technologies

While there are several LPWAN technologies, the market primarily revolves around a few key ones: NB-IoT, LoRa, Sigfox, and LTE-M. These four technologies hold the major market share. Data from 2021 shows they account for 96% of the market, with NB-IoT at 47% and LoRa at 36%.

Most Rapid Progress in the Chinese Market

The report indicates that China is the largest adopter in the LPWAN market and has the highest number of deployed NB-IoT and LoRa devices, accounting for 76% of the global total in 2021. However, due to trade war concerns, Western countries view NB-IoT as a Chinese technology and thus tend to avoid it in favor of LTE-M.

Smart Metering is the Largest LPWAN Application Use Case

Smart metering is one of the earliest and, so far, the most adopted use cases in the LPWAN market. China Telecom has over 20 million smart water meters and more than 25 million gas meters connected to its NB-IoT network. Japan's NICIGAS has completed the retrofit of 850,000 gas meters with Sigfox connectivity. Birdz will connect 3 million LoRa-based smart water meters in France over the next decade. In Saudi Arabia, a project involving over 5 million NB-IoT smart electricity meters is underway.

Low-Power Satellite IoT Connectivity is in Progress

Achieving ubiquitous network coverage at a fraction of the cost of traditional satellite solutions is paving the way for the technology's potential market success in the latter half of the 2020s or the 2030s. Several startups are testing the use of satellites for signal transmission and better IoT coverage. These companies include Astrocast, Myriota, and Swarm Technologies (acquired by SpaceX).

Migration from 2G/3G to NB-IoT/LTE-M is Underway

The LPWAN market will eventually cover most IoT deployments currently reliant on 2G/3G technologies. This migration path will help drive the expected massive capacity for these technologies. China Mobile has already stopped adding new 2G IoT connections and begun shutting down parts of its 2G network to accelerate migration to NB-IoT networks. However, some countries still retain 2G technology, so the transition is progressing gradually.