Sensors are the key things to communicate data between IoT devices and the internet. There are multiple ways to connect your sensors to the internet or cloud and it depends on the usage and requirement. A large number of sensors required for industries like agricultural, smart building monitoring, etc. Here the connectivity network plays a significant role to cover a large area, but the challenge is such sensors required long battery life and low cost of maintenance, so low-power consumption and long range supportable IoT devices are the perfect solution for industries.
Key aspects when you considering best connectivity network for IoT devices:
Range: If you are deploying to a single floor then a short range network or deploying to an entire city then choose a wide area network.
Data Rate: It depends on bandwidth requirement and changes in data.
Power: Most of the sensors can run on batteries for years, but some consume more power to communicate data, that can run on mains only.
Security: If your applications are communicating critical data, then data security is mandatory in your network.
LPWAN – Low Power Wide Area Networks
Low-power WAN is a wireless network technology which supports wide area and specialized for interconnecting multiple devices with low-bandwidth connectivity. It focuses on high range and low power consumption. LPWAN technologies designed for M2M communication environments. This network has a longer range of capability with a reduced cost than a mobile network.
LPWAN could play a significant role in Internet of Things, and that can help in connecting a variety of devices that uses low power and less cost. As a part of the Internet of Things, it likely to serve multiple ranges of industries, such as health, utilities and automotive.
Here are the common communication technologies that you can choose for IoT:
Wide Area Networks:
GSM or Cellular: GSM or 3G or LTE networks gives many advantages for long distance operations. It is the best for low bandwidth devices that can communicate small messages between multiple devices over the Internet. Mobile networks are a key competitor to this low-power WANs. The range of GSM is 35 km with a low data rate of maximum 170 kbps, 3G or HSPA range is 200 km with a data rate of maximum 10 Mbps.
LoRaWAN: Long Range Wide Area Network is specifically designed to provide low-power WANs to support low-cost mobile secure two-way data communication in IoT. The range is from 2 km to 45 km with a low data rate of maximum 50 kbps.
Weightless: It delivers wireless connectivity for LPWANs specifically designed for the Internet of Things, based on NWave technology. The range up to 5 km with maximum 100 kbps data rate.
Short Range Networks:
Bluetooth Low Energy: BLE is available at everywhere on all mobile platforms, it is a well supported and reliable network for short-range communications and runs on tiny batteries for years. Developers considering BLE is the must for IoT wearables. The range supports maximum 80m with up to 1 Mbps data rate.
WiFi: It is a clear choice due to its availability and huge adoption. It supports fast data transfer and high quantity of data. However, it consumes more power, and the range limited to 50m and data rate up to 600 Mbps.
ZigBee: It is also improving many active deployments in more and more traditional industrial settings. This wireless networking protocol based on IEEE802.15, targeting IoT applications which require infrequent low data rate communication between smart devices. ZigBee also has many advantages over BLE technology such as more robust, high security with a high scalability. The range supports up to 100m with 250kbs data rate.
However, there are many several types of Wide Aria Networks such as Sigfox, NWave and Neul. And Short Range Networks such as Thread, Z-wave and Wireless RF available at present, though choosing the best connectivity network may not typical because there are many specialized IoT solution providers like us/Blueapp.io will analyze your products and requirements and help you with the best option.
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