LPWA TECHNOLOGIES:

LPWA Networks For Low Data Rates

Is enabling the next big jump towards a connected world and IoT. LPWA networks are designed
for IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications that have low data rates, long battery lives,
cost optimized and operate also in remote and hard to reach locations.

Various analysts anticipate to reach up to 5 billion LWPA connections in 2020 and generate nearly
US$ 1 billion already in 2018.

Why do we need low power wide area networks?To support the further growth and development
of the Internet of Things (IoT), the mobile industry together with 3GPP has standardised a new
class of GSM technologies in record time. LPWA networks will support devices requiring, low
power consumption, long range, low cost and security.LPWA networks will play an important role
in connecting up the billions of new devices making up the IoT. LPWA technologies are expected to
serve a diverse range of vertical industries and support a range of applications and deployment
scenarios, which existing mobile technologies may not currently be best placed to connect.

The Role of the Application or Device

Applications or devices are benefitted by the connectivity that the LPWA network provides. The
device is what provides the data and interactivity the end user is seeking to obtain business value
from the IoT. For an application to participate in an LPWA network, there must be a positive return-
on-investment (ROI) of this connectivity. In other words, the value provided by the device
combined with the LPWA connectivity must exceed the connectivity fees paid to the carrier and
the costs to develop and maintain the device. The capabilities of the connectivity directly influence
the capabilities of the devices and the value they bring the people and organizations using them.
Complementary technologies using licensed spectrum

Due to the diversity of IoT application requirements, a single technology is not capable of
addressing all of the LPWA use cases. For this reason the mobile industry has focused on two
complementary licensed 3GPP standards: Long-Term Evolution for Machines (LTE-M) and
Narrowband-Internet of Things (NB-IoT). LPWA technologies in licensed spectrum can be deployed
in a simplified manner, without sacrificing key customer requirements, such as battery lifetime and
security.

Market Opportunity for Low Power Wide Area Networks

As LPWA networks are designed for IoT applications that have low data rates, require long battery
lives, are low cost, and operate in remote and hard to reach locations, they will be easy to deploy
across a number of different verticals such as utilities, smart cities, logistics, agriculture,
manufacturing, and wearables.LPWA is a quickly emerging area of the IoT and represents a huge
market opportunity as the IoT scales. Analyst firm Machina Research anticipate there will be 3
billion LPWA connections by 2025. By 2022, already 56% of active LPWA connections will be in
licensed spectrum.Analysys Mason forecast LPWA technologies will generate US$5 billion globally
in connectivity revenue by 2025. By 2022, Strategy Analytics estimate network operators could be
generating more than $13 billion from LPWA connectivity, as well as significant additional revenues
from value-added services, such as data analytics and security.

LICENSED VS UNLICENSED SPECTRUMS

In simple terms, all wireless technologies use the airwaves to transmit and receive information. So
that many different technologies can use the airwaves simultaneously, wireless spectrum is carved
up into chunks called frequency bands. Licensing these frequencies is a way of ensuring that
wireless operators do not interfere with each other's transmissions.

“Without licensing, interference would cause problems on the transmissions on both sides,”
explains Barker. “It’s a good way to ensure that every provider knows where the others’ signal is
and to ensure that users get the best quality because there is a dedicated frequency for their use.
The downside of the unlicensed frequencies or bands is that anyone else can use the same
frequency ranges, which can cause interference, so when using an unlicensed technology like Wi-
Fi, users may have to make adjustments to avoid this interference.”

The big difference between licensed and unlicensed bands is that the licensed bands are allowed
to be used only by the company that licensed them, whereas the unlicensed bands are used by
anyone who wants to use them.”

Long Term Evolution for Machines:

LTE-MLTE-M is the simplified industry term for the LTE-MTC low power wide area (LPWA)
technology standard published by 3GPP in the Release 13 specification. It specifically refers to LTE
CatM1, suitable for the IoT. LTE-M is a low power wide area technology which supports IoT through
lower device complexity and provides extended coverage, while allowing the reuse of the LTE
installed base. This allows battery lifetime as long as 10 years or more for a wide range of use
cases, with the modem costs reduced to 20-25% of the current EGPRS modems.Supported by all
major mobile equipment, chipset and module manufacturers, LTE-M networks will co-exist with
2G, 3G, and 4G mobile networks and benefit from all the security and privacy features of mobile
networks, such as support for user identity confidentiality, entity authentication, confidentiality,
data integrity, and mobile equipment identification. Commercial launches of LTE-M networks will
take place globally in 2017/18

Narrowband – Internet of Things (NB-IoT)

Narrowband-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) is a standards-based low power wide area (LPWA)

technology developed to enable a wide range of new IoT devices and services. NB-IoT significantly
improves the power consumption of user devices, system capacity and spectrum efficiency,
especially in deep coverage. Battery life of more than 10 years can be supported for a wide range
of use cases.New physical layer signals and channels are designed to meet the demanding
requirement of extended coverage – rural and deep indoors – and ultra-low device complexity.
Initial cost of the NB-IoT modules is expected to be comparable to GSM/GPRS. The underlying
technology is however much simpler than today’s GSM/GPRS and its cost is expected to decrease
rapidly as demand increases.Supported by all major mobile equipment, chipset and module
manufacturers, NB-IoT can co-exist with 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile networks. It also benefits from all
the security and privacy features of mobile networks, such as support for user identity
confidentiality, entity authentication, confidentiality, data integrity, and mobile equipment
identification. The first NB-IoT commercial launches have been completed and global roll out is
expected for 2017/18.

Market

There is a clear market need for low-power wide-area (LPWA) connectivity. LPWA offers the value
proposition of a secure, ubiquitous, battery-efficient, professionally managed, out-of-the-box
connectivity to unlock massive value for 10s to 100s of billions of Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
These devices require reliable, low-cost connectivity that will not sunset. They are their own
unique category of devices and, as we will see, a unique advanced technology is necessary to meet
their exceptional demands.

determining the right advanced technology to enable the IoT can often be difficult because the
marketing spin on these technologies often does not match reality.

Sigfox

Sigfox, is the company that awoke the world to the potential for IOT devices to use very low
bandwidth connections. Sigfox is the most basic of the 3 technologies, with the key differences
being:

 Sigfox has the lowest cost radio modules(<$5, compared to ~$10 for LoRa, and $12 for NB-
IOT)
 Sigfox is uplink only. Though limited downlink is possible, it has a different link budget, and
is very restricted.
 Sigfox is an end-to-end network and technology player

LTE-M & NB-IoT

LTE-M1 chip suppliers and network developers have created several power saving techniques that
have achieved 5+ years of device battery lifetime. With 100 millisecond latency levels and 1 Mbps
data rates, LTE-M1 will be able to capture a large slice of LPWA Industrial IoT. LTE-M1 networks will
soon cover the U.S. as well as much of Asia and Australia.

NB-IoT will also be a key industrial LPWA technology but incompatible protocols and the LTE-M1
development focus by 4G network providers will push large deployments out several years