Low power wide area machine-to-machine networks: key techniques and prototype

TLDR

Machine‑to‑machine communications are rapidly expanding, enabling diverse applications, yet challenges in low‑energy consumption and wide coverage persist. This article investigates low‑power wide‑area (LPWA) technology as a solution, introduces typical LPWA M2M application scenarios, and highlights key techniques and standards designed for these communications. The authors examine LPWA technology, emphasize its tailored techniques and standards, and develop a prototype system to evaluate its performance. The prototype demonstrates LPWA’s potential to bridge a technological gap for future Internet‑of‑Things applications.

Abstract

As one of the fastest growing technologies, machine-to-machine (M2M) communications are expected to provide ubiquitous connectivity. M2M devices can be used for a wide range of emerging applications that have various communications requirements. While M2M communications have been developed for many years, major challenges still remain with their efficient implementation from the perspective of low energy consumption and wide coverage. To address these challenges, low power wide area (LPWA) technology is investigated as one of the potential candidate solutions. In this article, we first introduce some typical LPWA M2M application scenarios. Given their requirements, we highlight key techniques and standards that are explicitly designed for LPWA M2M communications. Finally, we present an LPWA prototype system to evaluate its performance and demonstrate its potential in bridging a technological gap for future Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications.