Who will be the LPWAN technology who will eventually open the market?

Choosing a wireless technology to transfer small amounts of data, low data rates, and intermittent data seems like a simple matter, but it's not easy to implement. A comprehensive understanding of some of the wireless connectivity technologies that are created for IoT devices is not a simple matter, but may be more complicated. Therefore, before we step into this “minefield”, we need to spend some time to understand these technologies.

In the following article, it is not intended to introduce all the competing technologies, but to establish a basic framework for discussion, and to start with a succinct analysis from a certain market segment, such as: short distance VS Long distance. This is because the short-range technology tends to show low cost and low power consumption. Conversely, long-distance technology is the other extreme, high cost and high power consumption. However, for any IoT connection technology, the most basic and core considerations of cost, power consumption and distance. In almost all IoT application cases, one of the requirements is to combine the advantages of various alternatives and build on these advantages to enable the rapid development of the Internet of Things. At the same time, the advantages of low power consumption, low cost and long distance are the goals we want to achieve. We also believe that more companies will participate in this field. Therefore, it is of great significance to do an effective analysis of various connection technologies.

In short-range technology, the technologies we are familiar with include LAN and PAN technologies such as Bluetooth, WiFi and Zigbee. In these technologies, we can see a clear future, especially low-power Bluetooth. In addition, local network technologies will also create a large number of application cases in places where coverage is not very high, such as in homes and offices.

In terms of long-distance technology, 3GPP is familiar to everyone. For companies in the 3GPP camp, they are not optimistic about non-cellular network technology. After all, they believe that in the fierce competition that is considered to connect tens of billions of devices, it is still based on cellular networks that can truly support massive devices. Technology. To the best of our knowledge, based on the 3GPP IoT standard, many names have been evolved (after all, it cannot be called technology), including LTE-M, LTE-MTC, Cat 1, Cat 0, Cat M, Release-12. , Release-13, CIoT, Extended Coverage IoT, and NB-IoT.

It can be said that NB-IoT is the ultimate goal of these long-term evolution standards, and until now we can meet the requirements of Cat 1. However, from Cat 1 to NB-IoT, this process not only needs to skip Cat 0, but must also use Cat M as a springboard. Cat M / NB-IoT and Cat 1 have great differences in power consumption and cost. It is worth mentioning that Cat 1 is not suitable for any place, of course, it is not an optimization and improvement. Network connectivity solution technology. Before the Cat M / NB-IoT standard was really introduced, Cat 1 was the role of a temporary solution. So, when can we expect the real implementation of the above standards? The conclusion is not known.

The cellular communications industry has been focusing on the Internet of Things for several years, and the big companies we know are competing in full swing. The cellular communications industry is looking forward to re-launching this strategic land that will be lost, and if it is to achieve this goal, it must be able to succeed if other competitors’ technologies become more ingrained in the hearts of customers. Wait and see. This is a daunting task. After all, any 3GPP IoT solution with competitive potential on the technical level has not really opened the door to the market.

In this fierce competition, in the end, there will not be only one winner. Whether it is called NB-IoT technology or other title technology, when they really "enter" the Internet of Things field, it does play a vital role in this field, which is understandable. It's just that not only hasn't been implemented yet, but even these technologies are only used in some suitable cases.

The appearance of the LPWAN technology based on the white space has been amazing for many people. It takes a while for the NB-IoT to really debut from various temporary solutions based on the 3GPP standard, and this time period is the time for other LPWAN technologies to mature further. So, the real battle may be in the LPWAN field, so let us briefly understand the various technologies in the field.

In 2009, the French startup SigFox made a stunning appearance with the UNB modulation solution. Today, the company has become one of the most well-known suppliers in the LPWAN field. At the same time, SigFox is also striving to promote this LPWAN market with great potential.

At about the same time, the Weightless SIG also appeared. The organization is committed to building an IoT network in the white space. Its initial technology came from the British company Neul, which later renamed Neul's technology to Weightless-W, which was initially set to operate on the TVWS spectrum. However, because the second-level users are highly regulated in the dynamic access white space, and the speed of their opening is not expected to come quickly, it eventually ends in failure. Unfortunately, the technical superb still can't hide the commercial failure of the Weightless SIG. Neul changed his development strategy after replacing senior management and was eventually acquired by Huawei.

Thus, the first two competitors in the LPWAN field were born. Since then, various LPWAN technologies have sprung up in people's field of vision. . . . . . .

In 2012, Semtech acquired Cycleo, a long-distance wireless IP company in France, and quickly launched its broadband technology. Almost at the same time, the Russian company Nwave brought its UNB technology to the market, and this technology is the predecessor of Weightless-N.

In 2015, M2COMM announced a narrowband technology that claims to be a link between ultra-narrowband and wideband modulation solutions, providing the best performance for most IoT applications. Shortly thereafter, the technology also joined the Weightless SIG standard and evolved into Weightless-P.

In September 2015, On-ramp was renamed Ingenu, and the company also has one of the LPWAN technologies, RPMA (Random Phase MulTIple Access), which has greater capacity and wider coverage. Of course there are many more competitors in the field, including Strij, WAVIoT, Cyan, Silver Spring, Accellus, Telensa, DART, and more.

OK, our original goal was to understand a lot of technology, not to predict the victory in this competition. After all, it is too early to talk about it. So in this series of articles, we will start from a small point and analyze which technology type is suitable for an application case. In the next few articles, our goal is to show developers how to choose a suitable platform for their products, and what parameters should be emphasized in the decision-making process.