Value Vector
Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) have evolved at a critical time in the Internet of Things (IoT) as connected devices expand their presence. This article takes a look at some of the use cases and challenges of LPWAN and contends that they are enjoying a symbiotic relationship with IoT, but the lack of clarity between cornucopia of solutions poses a problem for those seeking to access the technology.
With the variety of statistics predicting the skyrocketing number of IoT connected devices in existence by 2020 and 2030, one thing has remained consistent, the need for an underlying computing paradigm that will complement both traditional cellular and short-range wireless technologies to meet the needs of the burgeoning plethora of connected applications. With four billion IoT devices expected to rely on LPWANs by 2025, ABI Research predicts that this technology will be the fastest growing connectivity segment in the market through 2025 and that the rise of LPWANs will translate into one billion chipset shipments with the technology generating a total value of more than $2 billion in 2025.
The reality is that there is not one solution but rather a variety of low-power, wide area network technologies that take many shapes and forms. LPWAN technologies include LoRa, Sigfox, Weightless (SIG), Ingenu, NB-IoT, and others. They can use licensed or unlicensed frequencies and include proprietary or open standard options.
LPWANs enable a much wider range of connected things, including ones which have previously been constrained by budgetary and power issues. Use cases typically involve either:
- Long-range communications in dense urban areas cities including big buildings for smart lighting, smart grid, and asset tracking
- Remote applications that require long battery life, where sensors and meters are installed and monitored over a long period. These include water metering, gas detectors, smart agriculture and remote door locks.
The 'low and long' capability distinguishes LPWAN from other wireless network protocols like Bluetooth, RFID, cellular M2M, and ZigBee.
As the increase in connected things explodes, competition is growing amongst IoT network operators, infrastructure vendors and service providers. According to global researchers, ON World, the largest and fastest growing LPWA markets include smart cities, smart energy, and smart water.
Smart cities:
Smart cities involve an array of low power connected devices. Sigfox-enabled sensors enable data collection for better air quality monitoring, tracking metrics such as humidity, temperature, and air quality. Fire hydrants can be embedded with sensors, alerting city officials when fire hydrants are in use and how much water is used, with an IoT-enabled pressure sensor. An accelerometer sensor sends alerts instantly if a hydrant is broken, leaking or malfunctioning.
Smart Energy
One of the most suitable uses for NB-IoT is Smart Metering: Gas and water meters, unlike smart electricity meters, are not connected to the electricity supply and are also often located in cellars where conventional mobile network connections are usually either weak or non-existent. Battery-powered NB-IoT modules can operate in areas where mobile reception is poor. In Portugal last year, the first operational pilot project using electrical energy smart meters and NB‑IoT communications technology was established in Lisbon.
Smart water and sewerage
Australian water utilities are developing business cases to understand the feasibility of deploying digital water meters in their networks. South East Water is using NB-IoT technology on sensors in sewer mains. These sensors would help alert the utility of sewer blockages without conducting site inspections. Those involved believe that emerging communication options for digital water meters may substitute current technologies and drive down costs.
The challenges of LPWAN
LPWAN is becoming an increasingly fast-moving, crowded arena. Success is dependent building solid relationships with multiple parties - including platform providers - to create sustainable, expandable ecosystems. Technology may end up costing more than previously anticipated and the expected ROI should be carefully measured. The interoperability between different standards persists (clearly nothing new to IoT) and markets the lack consolidation which could result to greater, faster innovation.
It can be extremely difficult for a traditional company going digital to choose the right solution, particular as each solution has its own solution, preferred media, champions and advocates that loudly claim it is the solution - as they fight for the market share. Picking the wrong connectivity solution could be costly in terms of deployment scalability, longevity, service coverage and business reputation, as well as leading to a blockage in IoT deployment.
Ultimately the use cases for LPWAN are increasing. It will be interesting to see if the introduction of 5G has any impact - at present cellular networks suffer primarily from poor battery life and may have gaps in coverage, but 5G technology is expected to be faster and have fewer dead zones, and could be an option for some IoT networks.
Stay tuned for Part 2 where we evaluate the different market players in LPWAN and consider who is winning with their market share and why, with "Who will win the race for the leading LPWAN protocol?"
Want to learn more? Please join Momenta Partners for a webinar exploring LPWAN technologies, their use cases and the market opportunity with Ed Maguire and special guests: "Connecting the world at large: Exploring LPWAN technologies and opportunities."
Share it
