LPWAN Solutions

LPWAN Solutions

Technology Basics:

Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) specification intended for wireless battery operated Things in a regional, national or global network. 

Current Issue:

– 2G Networks are being sunset (AT&T on January 1, 2017 with other major carriers to follow..) and are not fully suited to IoT applications due to battery life constraints.
– Next gen cellular proposals (LTE MTC) targeting IoT applications are not ready for deployments until 2018 so there is a current gap in the market .

LPWAN Benefits:

Low cost

Lower than cellular, WiFi, and satellite.

Long range

Greater than 15 miles rural and 5 miles urban.

Built-in security

Using AES-128 CCM, privacy, authenticity and message integrity are assured end-to-end.

Bidirectional communication

Sensors (data), actuators (control), battery powered and always-on devices.

Long battery life

10+ years from AA battery.

 

Additional Highlights:

LPWAN most suited for on/off type applications with only a few messages per hour.
5-10x fewer base stations required than 3G/4G
LPWAN capabilities will eventually be integrated into 5G service base stations