Abstract
Low power wide area network (LPWAN) is a promising solution for long range and low power Internet of Things (IoT) and machine to machine (M2M) communication applications. This paper focuses on defining a systematic and powerful approach of identifying the key characteristics of such applications, translating them into explicit requirements, and then deriving the associated design considerations. LPWANs are resource-constrained networks and are primarily characterized by long battery life operation, extended coverage, high capacity, and low device and deployment costs. These characteristics translate into a key set of requirements including M2M traffic management, massive capacity, energy efficiency, low power operations, extended coverage, security, and interworking. The set of corresponding design considerations is identified in terms of two categories, desired or expected ones and enhanced ones, which reflect the wide range of characteristics associated with LPWAN-based applications. Prominent design constructs include admission and user traffic management, interference management, energy saving modes of operation, lightweight media access control (MAC) protocols, accurate location identification, security coverage techniques, and flexible software re-configurability. Topological and architectural options for interconnecting LPWAN entities are discussed. The major proprietary and standards-based LPWAN technology solutions available in the marketplace are presented. These include Sigfox, LoRaWAN, Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), and long term evolution (LTE)-M, among others. The relevance of upcoming cellular 5G technology and its complementary relationship with LPWAN technology are also discussed.
Highlights
With the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine to machine (M2M) communications, massive growth in the sensor node deployment is expected soon
The growing popularity of IoT use cases in domains that rely on connectivity spanning large areas and the ability to handle a massive number of connections is driving the demand for Low power wide area network (LPWAN) access technologies
It is estimated that one-quarter of overall IoT/M2M devices will be connected to the Internet using either proprietary or standard LPWAN technologies
Summary
With the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine to machine (M2M) communications, massive growth in the sensor node deployment is expected soon. With highly anticipated developments in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, and Blockchain technologies, there is immense potential to exponentially grow LPWAN deployments and applications in almost all the sectors of society, profession, and the industry Such progression allows devices such as sensors, vehicles, robots, machines, or other such objects to connect to the Internet. The key expectations are device costs in the $3–$7 range, packet sizes from 10 to 1000 Bytes at uplink speeds of up to 200 kbps, battery life of 10+ years, support for 100K+ devices, and coverage from 2 km to 1000 km [3] These characteristics are expanded in many cases to address new applications. This paper is primarily focused on defining a systematic and powerful approach of identifying the key characteristics of LPWAN applications, translating them into explicit requirements, and deriving the associated design considerations [4] for present and future technological candidates.
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