2020 IEEE Region 10 Symposium (TENSYMP), 5-7 June 2020, Dhaka, Bangladesh

An Application Based Comparative Study of LPWAN

Technologies for IoT Environment
Mehzabien Iqbal, Abu Yousha Md Abdullah, Farzana Shabnam*
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
*fshabnam@bracu.ac.bd

Abstract—The Internet of Things (IoT) is a prospect of communi- Band (UNB). balanced with a bit rate of 100 bps [1, 4]. Though
cation that defines the framework of physical objects, embedded there are no distinct differences between them, the performance
with sensors, programs, and other innovations for transferring is evaluated in terms of the costings for module chips while
data across the internet to other devices and networks. LPWAN maintaining the same efficiency level.
(Low Power Wide Area Network) has become a significant part
The remaining portion of this article is structured as follows:
for the implementation of a large-scale IoT paradigm. Recently,
new protocols of LPWAN technologies have been introduced, such
segment II describes the characteristics, features, and architec-
as LoRa, NB-IoT and Sigfox. They are considered as the leading tural view of networking framework and utilizing factors of NB-
protocols as they have wide range accessibility, low power con- IoT, LoRa and Sigfox protocols. Segment three, four and five
sumption and highly cost-efficient in communication proficiency. review the application outlines and experimental arrangements
Our major objective with this review paper is to furnish a descrip- of NB-IoT, LoRa and Sigfox respectively. Finally, conclusion
tive and comparative survey of these technologies to emphasize the and remarks are covered in segment VI.
significance of LPWAN technology in the development and im-
provement of IoT based applications. Our focal point of study is to II. LPWAN TECHNOLOGY
specialize the technical deviation of LPWAN protocols in terms of A. NB-IoT
their features, which include pros and cons, architectural view of
networking system and their applications in usage. This study One of the forefront technologies of LPWAN, NB-IoT, was pre-
shows the benefits of Sigfox and LoRa provides with long term sented by 3GPP with the purpose of observing and acquiring
battery life, efficient power usage, and low expense over NB-IoT. data targeting applications of limited data rates. NB-IoT does
It also explains the advantages of NB-IoT in terms of latency and not work within the authorized LTE construct, but can instead
service quality (QoS). The whole study was done with to reach a work within bandwidth of 200 kHz, in the spectrum that utilizes
conclusion where we ensure their best uses in different scenarios. GSM or using resources provided by LTE base stations[5, 6].
NB-IoT network consists of terminal device, base station, core
Keywords— IoT (Internet of things), LPWAN (Low Power Wide network, cloud platform and business centre[5]. It provides
Area Network), LoRa, Sigfox, NB-IoT many attractive features such as low power consumption and
QoS. NB-IoT module batteries can last up to 10 years providing
I. INTRODUCTION low data rate and frequency services, supporting around 52,000+
The fundamental constituent of the IoT paradigm is connectiv- connections per cell.
ity itself. In the IoT sector, connections between devices can be
primarily classified in two ways: short-range communication
systems (such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, WiFi, etc.) and longer-
range communication known as LPWAN[1, 2].
Existing smart devices and automation systems consist of dis-
tributed energy resources, but lacking DSM (Demand Side
Management) centralized generation and transmission network
requirements. To achieve the goal of sustainable development
and conquer this obstacle, LPWAN reflects a new phase in the
advancement of IoT technology [1]. It includes large wireless
connections, with various advantages, which includes low
power demands, increased coverage areas (usually up to 15 km)
and zero maintenance requirements. Several LPWAN technol-
ogies have emerged in bandwidth of both licensed (NB-IoT) Fig. 1. Architectural view of NB-IoT Networking system
and unlicensed frequencies (Sigfox and LoRa) [1].
Narrow Band-IoT is standardized by 3GPP and operates seam- Figure-1 describes the architecture of NB-IoT in networking
lessly in authorized frequencies on the current GSM and LTE system. The NB-IoT and LTE network architecture is separated
networks[1, 5]. LoRa is a physical-layer innovation, transmit- into control panel and client panel. Control panel comprises of
ing signal within the SUB-GHz ISM band (868 MHz, 915 MHz, protocols that control the bearers and establish relation between
and 433MHz) [3]. Sigfox utilizes DBPSK as Ultra Contract the UE and the network. NB-IoT rearranges the sub-stance of

978-1-7281-7366-5/20/$31.00 ©2020 IEEE

1857
the EPC (Enhanced Packet Core) for IoT applications. A modern addressed a program based communications system, where all
base station (eNode) gives an interface of network administra- the network and computing complexity is overseen within the
tions. In the control panel, UL information can be exchange cloud, instead of on the devices. Altogether, it radically dimin-
from the eNB to the MME. From there, it can be exchanged with ishes energy consumption and costs of associated devices to a
the PGW or SCEF through the SGW, which have been conceiv- low commotion level. Sigfox employs UNB advances and
able for packets of non-IP data. From these hubs, they send to spreads out within the unlicensed sub-GHz ISM groups (e.g.
the IoT or application server [6]. 868MHz in Europe, 915MHz in North America, and 433MHz
B. LoRa Technology in Asia) [9]. Using BPSK modulation in an ultra-narrow band
LoRa Technology is the DNA of IoT, interfacing sensors to the of 100Hz at a maximum data rate of 100 bps, the end-devices
cloud and empowering real-time communication of infor- are connected to the base stations [10]
mation and analytic which will be utilized to upgrade efficiency
and productivity[7]. Several legacy wireless systems use FSK
modulation as the physical layer because it is an efficient mod-
ulation for achieving low power, though it significantly in-
crease the communication range [7, 8]. Semtechs, LoRa Inno-
vation has concentrated over 600 better-known employments
cases for shrewd cities, smart homes and buildings, smart farm-
ing, smart supply chain, smart marketing and coordination [7].

Fig. 3. Architectural view of Sigfox Networking system

Fig.3 represents the architectural view of Sigfox networking

framework which comprises of Client Applicative Board-end
client, Sigfox Station (Sigfox Base station, Sigfox Modem),
Sigfox cloud and Customer IT or application server. In addi-
tion, there is a safe point-to-point communicate interface be-
tween the Sigfox gateways and the Sigfox cloud and Sigfox net-
work architecture is following star topology [11].
To conclude, the principal of LoRa, NBIoT and Sigfox technol-
ogies have been highlighted in this section. Moreover, the sum-
mary of the different features has been referred in Table-I in
terms of Internet of Things (IoT) factors such as QoS, coverage-
range, maximum payload-length & data rate, deployment and so
on.
Fig. 2. Architectural view of LoRa Networking system
III. NB-IOT APPLICATION SUMMARY
Figure-2 represents the LoRa network architecture that consists A. Cloud Based Smart Parking System
of numerous elements: LoRaWAN Devices, LoRa Gateway
Bridge, LoRa Server, LoRa Geo Server, LoRa App Server. A smart parking management system has been developed using
LoRa-WAN Devices are the IoT gadgets (sensor measuring air Nb-IoT architecture to address static traffic issues and tackle
limitations of road parking spaces in cities by J. Shi et. al. [12].
quality, temperature, humidity, location and so on) which send
The architecture consists of a geomagnetic detector that is
information to the LoRa network through the LoRa gate-
periodically activated by a micro-controller unit and any
ways[7]. LoRa Gateway Bridge is responsible for the commu- changes to parking detected send using the NB-IoT module to
nication along with the gateway. It transforms the packet-for- the base station, relaying the information to a cloud server [12].
warder UDP convention into messages over MQTT. LoRa People can operate applications on their phones to use this
Server is mindful for organizing the state of the arrange or net- information in order to acquire knowledge in available parking
work [8]. spots. Current solutions are short-range communication
C. Sigfox technologies based on RFID. NB-IoT solution is enhancing
because of its installing ease, less complexities, greater battery
Sigfox is rolling out the first global IoT network that can listen capacities, ability to cover larger area and supporting a massive
to billions of objects broadcasting data, without any establish- number of connections [12].
ments or maintenance network connections[1].Sigfox has also

1858
 IV. LORA APPLICATION SUMMARY by the device node were with success received by the only base
station. The LoRa technology provides sufficiently sensible cov-
Indoor Remote Health and Wellbeing Monitoring erage even with lower spreading factors once operative in trou-
The indoor performance of Lora, LPWAN technology by the blesome locations from the radio wave propagation purpose of
means of real-life measurements have been evaluated. The read. For the power consumption, the results clearly illustrate
measurements were executed for a sensing element node oper- that the distinction in on-the-air times and also the consumed
ative near human body that was sporadically reportage the de- energy for various configurations, and emphasize the im-
tected information to a base station [11]. portance of deliberated choice of the radios operation mode and
For the largest spreading factor, the measure results have dis- also the use of the adaptive rate feature for optimizing the data
closed that for all the tested locations over 96 of the packets sent rate and transmit power for the sensor node [13].

TABLE I. TABLE OF DIFFERENT FEATURES

Features NB-IoT [1, 5, 9, 10] LoRa [1, 7, 9, 10] SigFox [1, 9, 10]
Technology Narrow Band LPWA Semtech- Long range wireless Ultra Narrow Band (UNB)
network
Modulation Downlink: QPSK+OFMDA CSS(Chirp Spread Spectrum DBPSK and GFSK
Uplink: BPSK/QPSK + SC- modulation) radio modulation
FDMA
Bandwidth 200kHz 125KHz or more 100 Hz
Maximum Data Rate Up to 250Kbps 50Kbps 100bps
Bidirectional Half Duplex Bi-directional in nature, half Limited/Half duplex
duplex, full duplex(FDX)
Maximum messages Unlimited Unlimited 140(UL), 4 (DL)
(per day)
Maximum payload 1600 bytes 243 bytes 12bytes(UL), 8 bytes(DL)
(length)
Range Up to 25 km very long range, more than 10 30-50 km (Rural)
km in rural areas and 5 km in 3-10km(Urban)
urban areas
Interference Immunity Low Very high Very high

Authentication Not Defined Mutual authentication, Integ- Sigfox cloud use HTTPS encrypted
-Encryption rity protection and confidenti- interfaces
ality( AES1 cryptographic al-
gorithms)
Adaptive Data Rate Not Defined Allowed Not Allowed
Standardization 3GPP Rel.13 (planned) LoRa-Alliance Sigfox company is collaborating
with ETSI on the standardization of
Sigfox based network
Protocol Upper layer: LTE based MAC layer protocol Lightweight protocol to handle small
Core network: S1 interface based (LoRaWAN) messages
Architecture Network: Cellular a star-of-stars topology Star network
Handover Cannot be carried out in connected End devices do not join the End-devices do not join a single base
mode; Cell reselection available in single base station station
idle mode.

V. SIGFOX APPLICATION SUMMARY board and Sigfox module are stored in real time and delivered to
users whenever needed [14]. LPWAN is mainly used for the
Tracking Platform long area network, but this experiment is efficiently works for
Sigfox have tracking sensor nodes and the overall network has the short range platform tracking system based on Sigfox net-
architecture allocation and execution process in the cloud work system. The functions of the designed tracking platform
scheme. Emulator configured Sigfox cloud system can automat- are verified and it is confirmed that Sigfox are applied to a real
ically forward some event using call back system. Call-back are application server [14].
triggered when any new events occur. Each message is directly Table-II over viewed the application summaries of NB-IoT, Sig-
forwarded by HTTP request. Each status message received from fox and LoRa which consists of the parameters-Authors, tech-
a main controller board is displayed the message pages. Those nology and device, focus of study, scenario, summary keywords
sensor information messages uploaded from main controller and how the problem solved.

1859
 TABLE II. TABLE OF APPLICATION SUMMARIES

Technology Focus of Scenario Summary Keywords

Authors Problem Solved
& Devices Study
1.Shi, J. et al NB-IoT [12] Cloud Based City Centre, Smart parking management Prevent reciprocal inter-
Smart Parking Zhejiang Applications in phones ferences
System Province, Cover larger area Ease of instalment and
China Massive number of connections connection to Internet
2. Yeonjoon Sigfox [14] Tracking plat- Indoor experi- Short range sensor tracking Used for long and short
Chung, Jae Young form ment in Korea Direct communicate with Sigfox range tracking system
Ahn, and Jae Du cloud
uh
3. Juha Petäjäjärvi, Lora [13] Indoor Re- University of Sensing element node Sufficiently sensible cov-
Konstantin Mi- mote Health Oulu, Fin- Operative near human body erage communication
khaylov, and Wellbe- land. Largest spreading factor performance
Rumana Yasmin, ing Monitor- Industrial sensor node equipped with
Matti Hämäläinen ing Semtech’s SX1272b
and
Jari Iinatti

up receiver," Microprocessors and Microsystems, vol. 56, pp. 184-192,

VI. CONCLUSION 2018/02/01/ 2018.
[8] A. J. Wixted, P. Kinnaird, H. Larijani, A. Tait, A. Ahmadinia, and N.
LPWAN technology plays an important role in the development Strachan, "Evaluation of LoRa and LoRaWAN for wireless sensor
of smart city. In this article, we have summarized the technical networks," in 2016 IEEE SENSORS, 2016: IEEE, pp. 1-3.
variations of recent rising LPWAN technologies- NB-IoT, Sig- [9] M. Centenaro, L. Vangelista, A. Zanella, and M. Zorzi, "Long-range
communications in unlicensed bands: The rising stars in the IoT and smart
fox, Lora and discussed their architecture, advantages, applica- city scenarios," IEEE Wireless Communications, vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 60-67,
tion in terms of suitability in IoT network and major issues that 2016.
serve as sustainable and economical solutions to connect smart, [10] B. Vejlgaard, M. Lauridsen, H. Nguyen, I. Z. Kovacs, P. Mogensen, and M.
autonomous, and heterogeneous devices. Our study shows that Sorensen, "Coverage and Capacity Analysis of Sigfox, LoRa, GPRS, and
NB-IoT," in 2017 IEEE 85th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC
Sigfox and LoRa technologies are profitable in terms of battery Spring), 4-7 June 2017 2017, pp. 1-5, doi:
life, capacity, and cost. On the other hand, NB-IoT outperforms 10.1109/VTCSpring.2017.8108666.
in terms of latency and quality of service. In addition, we also [11] A. Lavric, A. I. Petrariu, and V. Popa, "Long range sigfox communication
tried to focus on the future scope of these technologies based protocol scalability analysis under large-scale, high-density conditions,"
IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 35816-35825, 2019.
on their applications in different scenarios, such as-vehicle and [12] J. Shi, L. Jin, J. Li, and Z. Fang, "A smart parking system based on NB-IoT
transportation management, tracking platform, indoor remote and third-party payment platform," in 2017 17th International Symposium
health and well-being monitoring. on Communications and Information Technologies (ISCIT), 25-27 Sept.
2017 2017, pp. 1-5, doi: 10.1109/ISCIT.2017.8261235.
[13] J. Petäjäjärvi, K. Mikhaylov, M. Hämäläinen, and J. Iinatti, "Evaluation of
REFERENCES LoRa LPWAN technology for remote health and wellbeing monitoring," in
[1] K. Mekki, E. Bajic, F. Chaxel, and F. Meyer, "A comparative study of 2016 10th International Symposium on Medical Information and
LPWAN technologies for large-scale IoT deployment," ICT express, vol. 5, Communication Technology (ISMICT), 20-23 March 2016 2016, pp. 1-5,
no. 1, pp. 1-7, 2019. doi: 10.1109/ISMICT.2016.7498898.
[2] K. Ahmavaara, H. Haverinen, and R. Pichna, "Interworking architecture [14] Y. Chung, J. Y. Ahn, and J. Du Huh, "Experiments of A LPWAN tracking
between 3GPP and WLAN systems," IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. (TR) platform based on Sigfox test network," in 2018 International
41, no. 11, pp. 74-81, 2003. Conference on Information and Communication Technology Convergence
[3] J. So, D. Kim, H. Kim, H. Lee, and S. Park, "LoRaCloud: LoRa platform (ICTC), 2018: IEEE, pp. 1373-1376.
on openstack," in 2016 IEEE NetSoft Conference and Workshops (NetSoft),
2016: IEEE, pp. 431-434.
[4] M. Aernouts, R. Berkvens, K. Van Vlaenderen, and M. Weyn, "Sigfox and
LoRaWAN datasets for fingerprint localization in large urban and rural
areas," Data, vol. 3, no. 2, p. 13, 2018.
[5] Y. D. Beyene et al., "NB-IoT technology overview and experience from
cloud-RAN implementation," IEEE wireless communications, vol. 24, no.
3, pp. 26-32, 2017.
[6] A. D. Zayas and P. Merino, "The 3GPP NB-IoT system architecture for the
Internet of Things," in 2017 IEEE International Conference on
Communications Workshops (ICC Workshops), 2017: IEEE, pp. 277-282.
[7] F. A. Aoudia, M. Gautier, M. Magno, M. L. Gentil, O. Berder, and L. Benini,
"Long-short range communication network leveraging LoRa™ and wake-

1860