An
Introductory Guide
to Wireless
IoT Connectivity
Introduction
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of devices such as vehicles, appliances, and wearables
that contain electronics, software and sensors along with the connectivity that allows them
to interact and exchange data. In other words: it’s all of the ‘connected’ machines that we are
seeing making an entry into the market, from smart watches to Alexa-enabled refrigerators to
self-driving cars.
By 2025 The growth and development
the number of global of IoT presents transformational
opportunities for enterprises of
IoT connections will hit
all sizes and there is tremendous
$25 BILLION potential for those that can convert
their current offering into efficient,
while global IoT revenue monetized and connected products
and services.
will QUADRUPLE to
$1.1 TRILLION There is no IoT
without connectivity.
At the heart of IoT is the constant exchange of data between devices and a host of operational
and control systems to enable manufacturers to provision, manage and troubleshoot devices,
make decisions, perform analytics, and more. And this is a key barrier to entry for many
organizations seeking to enter the connected ecosystem.
A car manufacturer ‘ABC’ designs, builds and markets automobiles and their expertise and focus,
quite rightly, is on making a machine that meets and exceeds their target audience’s needs.
From state of the art handling systems, to safety features and fuel efficiency. They focus on their
core business to be best in class. When migrating to a connected offering, ‘ABC’ typically does
not want to divert scarce resource and talent into cultivating a new set of connectivity skills.
Connectivity, even though it lies at the heart of all IoT, is taken for granted by enterprises.
Despite this, making informed and intelligent decisions on the best connectivity technology for
your connected service is essential. In this paper we will discuss common connectivity standards
and their merits pertaining to various IoT applications and use cases.
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Enabling Enterprise
IoT Connectivity
What are the options?
There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to IoT connectivity: depending upon the application
and how mobile the product needs to be, any of a range of connectivity technologies can be
used to cut time to market, minimize costs and enable optimal monetization.
The first question is – wired or wireless connectivity? Even for ‘immobile’ items such as
refrigerators and smart meters, the current trend is to opt for wireless connectivity as
these can be built into the product in the factory at the bootstrap level, so that they can be
activated remotely as soon as the end customer switches on the device, with no need for
manual intervention or connections.
Depending upon the distance between the IoT end-point and the router or gateway that
processes the data, this can be divided into short-range and long-range.
LPWAN
Short-range
Long-range
Bluetooth
Wi-Fi
ZigBee
NBIoT
2G
LTE-M
3G
LoRaWAN
4G-LTE
LTE-WAN
5G
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Short-range connectivity options
Bluetooth
Anyone with a wireless headset or speaker is familiar with Bluetooth. Invented by Ericsson
in 1994, Bluetooth is one of the most commonly used short-range wireless communication
standards available today. Setting up a device wirelessly requires minimal configuration – a key
advantage for an IoT deployment. Bluetooth signals are weak, meaning devices must be located
close to each other, but they are effective at transmitting small amounts of data even when
there is a lot of interference, making them ideal for certain types of industrial IoT deployments.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi, also known as 802.11 networking, is another wireless communications standard that
consumers are familiar with. Devices connected over Wi-Fi communicate using wireless radio
waves at frequencies of between 2.4GHz and 5 GHz, depending on how much data is being
transmitted. Wi-Fi can be used at longer ranges than Bluetooth – up to 100m – and is suitable
for more data-intensive applications in an indoor setting, but its high power consumption
makes it a poor fit for battery powered IoT applications.
ZigBee
Zigbee is a wireless communication standard that enables devices to communicate with each
other in a ‘mesh’ configuration. In other words, each Zigbee device can communicate with
all the other ZigBee devices near it. It is ideal for embedded applications with low power
consumption and low data rates – smart home scenarios, where there will be dozens of
connected devices all communicating with each other – are an possible use case for ZigBee.
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Long-range connectivity options
Cellular technologies
Cellular connectivity is essential for any type of IoT application where the device is mobile,
outdoors or out of range of short-range connectivity options, from connected cars to smart
watches to parking meters. Devices connected over cellular technology work on the same
principle as the mobile phone. With embedded physical or electronic SIM cards, IoT devices
connecting over cellular technology communicate via the networks of mobile operators.
Cellular connectivity is currently the most popular type of IoT connectivity used for its
flexibility, ubiquity and ease of implementation. Battery consumption, however, remains
an issue for certain types of deployments.
2G 4G LTE
2G, the first generation of mobile network Since 2009, when the first commercial 4G
connectivity using narrowband digital networks were introduced, it is on track to
network connectivity, was launched in 1991. becoming the world’s leading mobile network
2G underpins many services that mobile technology by 2019 and will account for 53
operators offer even today including voice, per cent of all global connections by 2025. 4G
text messages, picture messages, and MMS or 4G LTE is the fastest network technology
(multimedia messages). 2G connectivity is available today, transmitting data at up to 10
ideal for many types of IoT applications that times the speed of 3G and making it suitable
require devices to send alerts or updates on for more data-intensive IoT applications such
their location or status, but many carriers have as video transmission or CCTV.
shut down their 2G networks and many more
are lined up to follow suit. Some companies 5G
are doing this in order to move customers onto 5G is the fifth generation of cellular
more efficient services and spectrums and to networking. It is the next step in mobile
reuse the 2G spectrum for LTE. technology and delivers high data speeds,
low power consumption, cost reduction, and
3G massive device connectivity. While 5G is still
3G was launched in 1998, heralding a new in the rollout stage, the standard will account
era for cellular connectivity by enabling for 15 per cent of global mobile connections
users to exchange data by connecting by 2025, as operators ramp network rollouts
mobile devices to the internet for the first and new devices come to the market this year.
time. 3G is faster than 2G, allowing more
data transmission including voice, SMS, file
sharing, and streaming, making it ideal for
slightly more data-intensive IoT applications
such as analytics or remote device
management and troubleshooting.
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Low-Power Wide-Area Networks (LPWAN)
LPWAN is an IoT-specific wireless wide area network communications technology that can
connect battery-powered devices that are not very mobile over longer ranges for low-
bandwidth applications. LPWANs are ideal for use cases that require devices to send small
amounts of data periodically over often-remote networks that span many miles and use
battery-powered devices that need to last many years. LPWANs achieve this by having
their IoT devices send only small packets of information periodically or even infrequently—
status updates, reports, etc.— upon waking from an external trigger or at a preprogrammed
interval. As it optimizes the three main needs for most IoT applications: cost, battery life, and
range, it is seeing strong momentum.
Narrowband-IoT
Narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT) is an LPWAN protocol that connects devices over unused
frequency bands in cellular networks, which is optimized for spectrum efficiency. NB-IoT
is designed specifically for cellular M2M communications infrastructures, and a SIM card
is necessary for it. Because of its low data rate compared with other LTE technology, NB-
IoT improves the power efficiency of networked devices and can support years of battery
life, making it ideal for applications such as intruder alarms, smart city infrastructure, asset
tracking, and so on.
LTE-M
LTE-M, or Long Term Evolution (4G), category M1, is another cellular LPWAN technology
which has been specifically developed for IoT applications. It allows IoT devices to connect
directly to a 4G network via a SIM, offering benefits such as lower cost and extended battery
life. It is cheap to deploy and runs on existing operator 4G networks. Devices connected over
LTE-M can enter into ‘Power Savings Mode’ and only wake up periodically when connected,
allowing batteries to last for up to ten years and making them ideal for simple applications
like asset tracking, automated meter reading etc.
LoRaWAN
LoRaWAN, or Long-Range Wide Area Networking, is a means of connecting IoT devices
without a cellular network and operates in the license-free frequency bands of the wireless
spectrum. Launched in 2015, LoRaWAN is reliable and secure. It is therefore ideal for
providing inexpensive, long-range IoT connectivity in rural, remote and offshore industries.
They are typically used in mining, natural resource management, renewable energy,
transcontinental logistics, and supply chain management.
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Power
Technology Frequency Data rates Range consumption Use cases
Bluetooth < 1 GHz .1 – 1 MBps tbc Industrial IoT
Wi-Fi Medium Smart home uses
ZigBee Smart home uses
Cellular Logistics,
2G ±10 MBps Several km High
bands supply chain
Smart grids,
Cellular connected
3G Several km High
bands consumer devices,
logistics
Cellular Healthcare,
4G Several km High
bands security
Emergency
Cellular
5G Several km High services, connected
bands
cars
Cellular Smart meters,
NB-IoT 250 KBps Several km Low
bands Asset tracking
Cellular
LTE-M 1 MBps Several km Low Asset tracking
bands
Smart city
LoRaWAN <50 KBps Very Low
deployments
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Conclusion
There is no single ideal connectivity option for all IoT connectivity projects. Depending upon
the various parameters of the project, any of the options discussed above has its own merits.
While 2G / 3G / 4G connectivity is advantageous because it offers ubiquitous connectivity
and is readily available for deployment in more than 200 markets around the world, LTE-M
and NB-IoT are particularly useful for low-power applications. Deployment is growing rapidly
– In February 2019 the GSMA revealed that 50 operators have launched 94 services across
both LTE-M and NB-IoT technologies. To date there have been 69 NB-IoT launches in 46
markets and 25 LTE-M launches in 19 markets. 5G technology is ideal for data-intensive,
mission-critical use cases but is not yet widely available around the world.
Understanding the various connectivity options is a fundamental step in making educated
project decisions and the wrong decision can set organizations back by years. Business
leaders must clarify goals for the IoT connectivity project, thoroughly understand
connectivity options, and apply the right standard to the project.
Rather than attempting to develop the connectivity infrastructure on their own, smart
enterprises can accelerate time-to-market by partnering with IoT connectivity experts.
With the right connectivity and partnerships in place, an IoT application can achieve digital
transformation, generate new revenue streams and create a safer and more interesting
connected world.
About EMnify
EMnify is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company, revolutionizing cellular IoT. Our
connectivity management service provides mobile network operators, enterprises, and
developers globally with technology connecting ‘things’. The first to provide a mobile core
infrastructure as a cloud service, EMnify enables secure, reliable and scalable connectivity,
in ways previously impossible.
EMnify leads the way towards a future without communication barriers. Today we serve
customers from more than 70 countries, enabling innovative business models and IoT use
cases across the globe.
+49-931-4973-927
[email protected]
Page 8 | An Introductory Guide to Wireless IoT Connectivity Charlottenstr. 4, 10969 Berlin, Germany
