NEXT GENERATION COMMS IOT DEPLOYMENTS
A BLENDED STRATEGY
Why using a blend of networks will deliver a more successful IoT
deployment. By Nick Sacke
I oT production deployments
are underpinned by a carefully
orchestrated connectivity layer, but
there is an on-going debate about
which network types and protocols
are better suited for supporting mass
sensor deployments. The decision
regarding which network is to be
used is an early consideration for
IoT deployments, but how do you
determine availability and which
network will give you the best solution
and project outcomes?
The short answer can be captured
in two words, evolution and innovation.
Over time, IoT sensor technology
has evolved in capability, potential
for scale and reduction in cost per
module, creating a demand for new
wireless network protocols and
methods to support the new sensor
types, many of which rely on battery
power and infrequent messaging at
long range, and over a wide area.
Doubt, uncertainty and
fragmentation in the IoT market,
combined with increasing sensor
hardware and software innovation,
have led to the creation and elding of
connectivity protocols.
Despite initial predictions claiming
that the cellular IoT Network variants
would dominate the IoT connectivity
market and squeeze LoRaWAN and
Sigfox to the margins, there has been
a lack of intensity in UK rollout of the
cellular IoT network programmes (at
the time of writing, LTE-M has been
enabled in the Eastern half of the
UK, and NB-IoT has ‘holes’ in its’
coverage, particularly in the Eastern
side of the UK). This means that IoT
cellular LPWAN work has been largely
limited to testing in the UK, while
production rollouts are dominated by
Private Council LoRaWAN installations
and innovation programmes on public
network variants of both LoRaWAN
and Sigfox.
Globally, analysts project that
there will be a 50:50 split in LPWAN
network deployments between the
free-to-air (unlicensed spectrum) and
cellular variants (licensed spectrum)
– the competition between these
network standards will continue for
some time to come. In particular,
once 5G is fully rolled out and there
are radio modules at a workable
cost point for IoT, 5G protocols will
also have an IoT element for the
cellular side that will bring increased
scale and efciency in terms of its
capability to connect millions of
sensors per square kilometre.
several network connectivity options,
each with their own attributes.
In recent years we’ve witnessed
the growing expansion and evolution
of one dominant IoT Network type,
the Low Power Wide Area Network
(LPWAN). The early entrants to
this market, LoRaWAN and Sigfox,
use free-to-air radio spectrum,
and have had time to establish
themselves across the world.
LoRaWAN in particular has been a
runaway success as an IoT Network
connectivity option, dominating the
market with over 40% market share of
new connections, which is projected
to continue adding market share
through 2025.
On the cellular side, for new IoT
network protocols NB-IoT and LTE-M
(evolutions of the 4G spectrum that
have now been adopted under the 5G
standard), there is still an element
of catch-up in progress. The GSMA
was late in ratifying the standards for
these IoT protocols and ultimately
their deployment by Tier 1 carriers
came sometime after the initial
rollouts of the rst LPWAN network
www.newelectronics.co.uk 9 March 2021 25
WrightStudio/stock.adobe.com
Author details:
Nick Sacke,
head of IoT and
products at
Comms365
/www.newelectronics.co.uk
/stock.adobe.com