What is LPWA for the Internet of Things? Part 3: A Guide to Decoding the Technologies

Why did the 3GPP define three different technologies? The simple answer is that every geographic region has a different mix of 2G and 4G LTE network infrastructure deployed and, since all three of these LPWA technologies leverage the existing network infrastructure (i.e. can be deployed by software upgrade to the base stations), different LPWA technologies are needed.

• LTE-M is the most flexible LPWA technology, supporting both simple static sensor applications, as well as applications requiring voice, mobility, and slighting higher throughput.
• NB-IoT is ideal for simpler sensor applications requiring very low throughput, and although the standard supports re-farming 2G spectrum, all commercial deployments today have been deployed within an LTE system using in-band dedicated spectrum.
• EC-GSM-IoT is a 2G technology and likely to be strong in countries that are committed to keeping their 2G networks up for many years and/or where 4G coverage is insufficient, including Europe, China, India, Malaysia, Russia, Africa, Middle East, South and Central America, and Mexico. It’s important to note that although technology trials have begun, the commercial timing of EC-GSM is hard to predict and will require a combined ecosystem adoption of the technology.

By the end of 2018, we expect that both LTE-M and NB-IoT networks will both be available in many regions, giving OEMs options when selecting which technology to choose. And to make it even easier, Sierra Wireless supports multiple LPWA technologies on the same module for companies wanting to deploy their solutions on different LPWA cellular networks worldwide using the same hardware.

But there are some differences between LTE-M and NB-IoT, such as data rates and real-time communications support, such as voice. So think through both near- and long-term application requirements before selecting an LPWA technology. For example, it was commonly thought that IoT would never need voice, but it’s now a growing requirement for many IoT applications, including vehicles, wearables, elevators and healthcare applications, to name a few. The next invented killer IoT application may very well need real-time communications.

The good news is that most chipsets and module vendors will be able to support more than one 3GPP LPWA technology, so the choice will really come down to the feature requirements of your application.