The
wireless world is all about speed and quantity.
The evolution of wireless networks is the history of trying to transmit
ever greater quantities of data at faster speeds. It was once viewed as revolutionary that
suitcase-size “mobile” phones could make poor quality voice calls without
wires. Now, with the latest 4G cellular
networks we can access the Internet, communicate with the world and watch the
latest videos over our latest, svelte smartphones. And, the new 5G networks on the horizon
promise speeds measured in multiple gigabits per second, latency in the single
digit milliseconds and the capacity to handle 1,000 times more consumption that
current network technologies. Industry
pundits predict that 5G promises to bring the Internet of Things world alive, enabling
new IoT opportunities like robotics and autonomous vehicles.
This
exciting new future for mobile networks may be great for data hungry smartphone
users and “sexy” new IoT applications, but the majority of IoT applications is
pretty pedestrian, or as some might say, old school. From a network connectivity perspective, this
huge body of sensors transmits very little data, at slow rates. Moisture sensors buried in farmers’ fields
indicate when they need to be irrigated, trash bins communicate whether they
need to be emptied, or embedded parking sensors indicate when a parking spot is
available. And, most of these sensors don’t
have ready access to power, so they need to have very low power consumption to
ensure that their batteries last for years.
Do you really want to be ripping up agricultural fields or water
distribution networks every couple of months to replace batteries? While the high-speed world of futuristic IoT
applications sounds exciting, it is really this mass of connected, “small
data”, sensors that is truly going to deliver on the social and economic
promise of the IoT revolution.
The
problem is how to effectively connect this “small data” IoT world. Cellular networks have been fantastic for
creating our wireless world but they are not very well adapted for much of the
IoT world. These networks and devices
consume a fair bit of power, they are costly to build and operate, they have a
fair bit of unnecessary technology overhead, and their coverage is typically
confined to areas populated by people, not necessarily sensors. The race is now on to deliver alternative,
better suited networks to the rapidly growing “small data” IoT connected world.
There
are currently three network technologies vying to connect the small data
world. All of these networks cover wide
areas (up to 30 km and more per base station), require very low power (the
batteries of attached devices can last for years), and transmit very low
amounts of data (10 to 100 bytes) at slow speeds (60 bs to a couple of 100
kpbs). SigFox is a French company that
uses proprietary technology to build and operate its own networks, selling
access to IoT users. SigFox currently claims
the world’s largest IoT network, covering much of Europe, Australia and
ambitious plans to blanket the United States.
LoRa is an alliance of manufacturers, vendors and operators who
collaborate to create an open, global standard and certification process. Operators, enterprises and others can use
their certified equipment to build and operate their own LoRa network. Lastly, the GSMA, the association that
represents the world’s cellular operators and vendors, has been frantically working
with the global standards body to create, the yet to be released, Narrow-Band
IoT (NB-IoT) which will be compatible with current cellular standards and
deployments.
The
world’s mobile operators are in a precarious position, they know that wireless
connectivity is essential to the IoT revolution, but they recognize that their
bread-and-butter cellular networks will only take them so far. They also need to be able to connect the
small data IoT world. Despite unclear
business cases, operators around the world are launching these alternative IoT
networks using one of the three network technologies. While it is not yet obvious how they will
make money, besides the very low access fees, they recognize that there is a
“land grab” happening that will define who will connect the small data IoT
world.
It
is not certain which technologies or which providers will win in the race to
connect the small data world. But, it is
certain that the small data world is the backbone of the IoT revolution and
without effectively connecting this world, the revolution will never be
realized.
Thanks for sharing information about Internet of Things.
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