IBM Research and Semtech have unveiled a new technology based on low-power, wide-area networks (LPWANs) that offer major advantages over cellular networks and Wi-Fi for providing M2M communications.
For years, the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) for business — to collect data from scores of devices, analyze and act upon it to make quick and accurate decisions — has been held back by technical challenges such as limited battery life, short communication distances, high costs and a lack of standards.
The companies claim their new technology, called LoRaWAN (Long Range wide-area networks), overcomes these hurdles. Based on a new specification and protocol for low-power, wide-area networks that tap an unlicensed wireless spectrum, the technology can connect sensors over long distances, while offering optimal battery life and requiring minimal infrastructure. This allows it to deliver such benefits as improved mobility, security, bi-directionality, and localization/positioning, as well as lower costs.
In support of LPWAN technology, IBM, Semtech, and other companies also announced the LoRa Alliance, a new association to support and develop and standardization LoRaWAN.
The LoRa Alliance aims to combine hardware and software based on the LoRaWAN standard for telecom operators and network operators, enabling them to offer IoT services to both businesses and consumers. From sensors and machines to monitors and wearables, soon connecting billions of devices together could be as seamless as sending an SMS to your local telecom provider.
LoRaWAN sensors can communicate over distances of more than 100 km (62 miles) in favorable environments, 15 km (9 miles) in typical semi-rural environments and more than 2 km (1.2 miles) in dense urban environments at data rates from 300 bit/s up to 100 kbit/s. This makes them well suited for sending small amounts of data, such as GPS coordinates and climate readings, where broadband can’t reach.
The sensors also require very little energy to operate; most can run for 10 years or more on a single AA battery and AES128 keys make communication tampering and eavesdropping virtually impossible.