LPWAN

Low-Power Wide-Area Network

A communication technology revolutionizing how we connect simple devices across large distances. Imagine being able to place sensors all around a city or across farmland and have them send data for years without needing to change their batteries—that’s what LPWAN makes possible.

LPWAN Key Features

• Range: Urban ranges are 2-5 km with rural areas 10-15 km or more
• Low data transfer rates (typically 0.3-50 kbps)
• Low cost per connected device
• Good penetration through buildings and obstacles
• Ability to connect thousands of devices

LPWAN’s unique balance of range, power consumption, and cost makes it special. Unlike your home WiFi, which needs constant power but gives you high speeds, or Bluetooth, which is short-range but energy efficient, LPWAN sits in a sweet spot. It can transmit data several kilometers away—reaching up to 15 kilometers in open rural areas or 2-5 kilometers in busy urban environments with lots of buildings.

The trade-off is speed. LPWAN isn’t meant for streaming videos or browsing the internet; it’s designed for devices that need to send small amounts of data occasionally. Think of a water meter sending its reading once a day or a soil sensor reporting moisture levels every few hours. This limited data transmission allows these devices to operate on a single battery for years.

Today, several technologies compete in the LPWAN space. LoRaWAN has become popular for its open nature and flexibility. Sigfox offers its unique network infrastructure. Meanwhile, cellular companies have developed standards like NB-IoT and LTE-M to leverage existing mobile networks.

• Abbreviation: LPWAN